AUTHOR=Smith Kirsten V. , Wild Jennifer , Ehlers Anke 

TITLE=Psychometric Characteristics of the Oxford Grief Memory Characteristics Scale and Its Relationship With Symptoms of ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR Prolonged Grief Disorder

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.814171

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.814171

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p>Difficulties with loss-related memories are hypothesised to be an important feature of severe and enduring grief reactions according to clinical and theoretical models. However, to date, there are no self-report instruments that capture the different aspects of memory relevant to grieving and adaptation after bereavement over time. The Oxford Grief–Memory characteristics scale (OG-M) was developed using interviews with bereaved individuals and was subject to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in a community sample (<italic>N</italic> = 676). Results indicated the scale was unidimensional and demonstrated excellent psychometric properties. The impact of memory characteristics on symptoms of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) according to both ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR criteria were investigated using cross-lagged structural equation modelling in a three-wave longitudinal sample (<italic>N</italic> = 275) at baseline and 6 and 12 months later. Results indicated that loss-related memory characteristics predicted future symptoms of PGD after controlling for autoregressions, and concurrent associations between symptoms and memory characteristics. Cross-lagged associations between memory characteristics and symptoms were significant in the first 6 months of follow-up. After that, memory characteristics predicted future symptoms, but not the other way round. Theoretical and clinical utility of the scale and its features are discussed.</p>