AUTHOR=Kristensen Pål , Dyregrov Kari , Gjestad Rolf 

TITLE=Different Trajectories of Prolonged Grief in Bereaved Family Members After Terror

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.545368

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2020.545368

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> The loss of a loved one in a terror incident is associated with elevated risk for mental health disorders such as prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but the long- term adaptation after such losses are not well understood. This study aims to explore the trajectories of PGD among parents and siblings (<italic>n</italic> = 129) after the 2011 terror attack on Utøya Island, Norway.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> The 19-item Inventory of Complicated grief (ICG) was used to measure PGD at 18, 28, and 40 months post-loss. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was used to identify trajectories of grief and a multinomial regression analysis was conducted to examine predictors of class membership.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The analysis identified three grief trajectories; <italic>moderate/decreasing</italic> class (23%), <italic>high/slow decreasing</italic> class (64%), and a <italic>high/chronic</italic> class (13%). Predictors of high/slow recovery or chronic grief was female gender, previous depressive symptoms, and intrusion and avoidance symptoms.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The findings highlights the difficult grief process and slow recovery that characterizes the majority of close family members bereaved by a terror-incident. Community mental health programs should strive for both early outreach and long-term follow-up after such incidents.</p>