Abstract
Background: Complicated grief, which is often under-recognized and under-treated, can lead to substantial impairment in functioning. The Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ) is a 5-item self-report or interview instrument for screening complicated grief. Although investigations with help-seeking samples suggest that the BGQ is valid and reliable, it has not been validated in a broader population. Methodology/Principal Findings: A questionnaire was mailed to a randomly selected sample (n = 5000) residing in one of 4 areas of Japan. The BCQ was examined for responders who were bereaved more than 6 months and less than 10 years (n = 915). Non-specific psychological distress was assessed with the K6 screening scale. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis supported a uni-dimensional factor structure and the invariance of parameters across gender and age. Cronbach's alpha was sufficiently high (alpha =. 75) to confirm internal consistency. Average Variance Extracted (0.39) was higher than the shared covariance (0.14) between BGQ and K6, suggesting discriminant validity. Conclusions: The results of this study support the reliability and validity of the BGQ in the Japanese population. Future studies should examine predictive validity by using structured interviews or more detailed scales for complicated grief.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e31209 |
| Journal | PLoS One |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 Feb 14 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Brief measure for screening complicated grief : Reliability and discriminant validity. / Ito, Masaya; Nakajima, Satomi; Fujisawa, Daisuke; Miyashita, Mitsunori; Kim, Yoshiharu; Shear, M. Katherine; Ghesquiere, Angela; Wall, Melanie M.
In: PLoS One, Vol. 7, No. 2, e31209, 14.02.2012.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Brief measure for screening complicated grief
T2 - Reliability and discriminant validity
AU - Ito, Masaya
AU - Nakajima, Satomi
AU - Fujisawa, Daisuke
AU - Miyashita, Mitsunori
AU - Kim, Yoshiharu
AU - Shear, M. Katherine
AU - Ghesquiere, Angela
AU - Wall, Melanie M.
PY - 2012/2/14
Y1 - 2012/2/14
N2 - Background: Complicated grief, which is often under-recognized and under-treated, can lead to substantial impairment in functioning. The Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ) is a 5-item self-report or interview instrument for screening complicated grief. Although investigations with help-seeking samples suggest that the BGQ is valid and reliable, it has not been validated in a broader population. Methodology/Principal Findings: A questionnaire was mailed to a randomly selected sample (n = 5000) residing in one of 4 areas of Japan. The BCQ was examined for responders who were bereaved more than 6 months and less than 10 years (n = 915). Non-specific psychological distress was assessed with the K6 screening scale. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis supported a uni-dimensional factor structure and the invariance of parameters across gender and age. Cronbach's alpha was sufficiently high (alpha =. 75) to confirm internal consistency. Average Variance Extracted (0.39) was higher than the shared covariance (0.14) between BGQ and K6, suggesting discriminant validity. Conclusions: The results of this study support the reliability and validity of the BGQ in the Japanese population. Future studies should examine predictive validity by using structured interviews or more detailed scales for complicated grief.
AB - Background: Complicated grief, which is often under-recognized and under-treated, can lead to substantial impairment in functioning. The Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ) is a 5-item self-report or interview instrument for screening complicated grief. Although investigations with help-seeking samples suggest that the BGQ is valid and reliable, it has not been validated in a broader population. Methodology/Principal Findings: A questionnaire was mailed to a randomly selected sample (n = 5000) residing in one of 4 areas of Japan. The BCQ was examined for responders who were bereaved more than 6 months and less than 10 years (n = 915). Non-specific psychological distress was assessed with the K6 screening scale. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis supported a uni-dimensional factor structure and the invariance of parameters across gender and age. Cronbach's alpha was sufficiently high (alpha =. 75) to confirm internal consistency. Average Variance Extracted (0.39) was higher than the shared covariance (0.14) between BGQ and K6, suggesting discriminant validity. Conclusions: The results of this study support the reliability and validity of the BGQ in the Japanese population. Future studies should examine predictive validity by using structured interviews or more detailed scales for complicated grief.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0031209
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0031209
M3 - Article
VL - 7
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 2
M1 - e31209
ER -