Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS): A Clinical Screening Tool

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the five-item self-report Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS) that was developed for the purpose of quickly and effectively identifying individuals suffering from dysfunctional levels of grief due to a COVID-19 death. The initial development process and the theoretical foundations of the PGS are presented and followed by an examination of its psychometric properties across independent studies. Several translated versions of the PGS are also discussed along with scoring instructions, which may vary for some versions of the instrument. The chapter ends with a discussion of the PGS’s limitations, recommendations for future research, and concluding comments about the PGS.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS): English Version

Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you experienced the following thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to your loss?		Not at all	Several days	More than half the days	Nearly everyday
1.	I wished to die in order to be with the deceased.	0	1	2	3
2.	I experienced confusion over my role in life or felt like my identity was diminished because of the loss.	0	1	2	3
3.	Nothing seemed to matter much to me because of this loss.	0	1	2	3
4.	I found it difficult to have positive memories about the deceased.	0	1	2	3
5.	I believed that without the deceased, life was either meaningless, empty, or could not go on.	0	1	2	3

1. Note. The above version of the PGS is based on Lee and Neimeyer (2022). Please contact the authors of this paper for an official version of this measure:
2. Lee and Neimeyer (2022)

Appendix 2

Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS): Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish Versions

Version	Brazilian Portuguese	Spanish
Instructions	Nas últimas 2 semanas, quantas vezes você experimentou os seguintes pensamentos, sentimentos, comportamentos relacionados à sua perda?	Durante las últimas 2 semanas, ¿con qué frecuencia ha experimentado los siguientes pensamientos, sentimientos o comportamientos relacionados con su pérdida?
Item #1	Eu queria morrer para estar com o falecido.	Quería morir para estar con la persona que falleció.
Item #2	Experimentei confusão sobre meu papel na vida ou senti que minha identidade foi diminuída por causa da perda.	Experimenté confusión sobre mi papel en la vida o sentí que mi identidad había cambiado debido a la pérdida.
Item #3	Nada parecia importar muito para mim por causa dessa perda.	Nada parecía importarme debido a esta pérdida.
Item #4	Achei difícil ter lembranças positivas sobre o falecido.	Me resultó difícil tener recuerdos positivos de la persona fallecida.
Item #5	Eu acreditava que sem o falecido a vida seria sem sentido, vazia ou não poderia continuar.	Creía que, sin la persona fallecida, la vida carecía de sentido, estaba vacía o no podía continuar.

1. Note. The above versions of the PGS are based on Caycho-Rodríguez et al. (2021). Please contact the authors of this paper for official versions of these measures:
2. Caycho-Rodríguez et al. (2021)

Appendix 3

Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS): Polish Version

Jak często w trakcie ostatnich dwóch tygodni doświadczałeś/ aś poniższych myśli, uczuć lub zachowań związanych ze stratą?		Wcale	Przez kilka dnis	Przez ponad połowę dni	Prawie codziennie lub codziennie
1.	Chciałem/am umrzeć aby być z osobą, która zmarła.	0	1	2	3
2.	Byłem/am zdezorientowany/a i miałem/am poczucie rozpadu mojej tożsamości z powodu straty bliskiej osoby.	0	1	2	3
3.	Z powodu straty bliskiej osoby nic nie miało dla mnie większego znaczenia.	0	1	2	3
4.	Trudno mi było mieć wspomnienia o osobie, która zmarła.	0	1	2	3
5.	Moje życie po śmierci bliskiej osoby straciło sens, stało się puste i nie może toczyć się dalej.	0	1	2	3

1. Note. The above version of the PGS is based on Skalski et al. (2021). Please contact the authors of this paper for an official version of this measure:
2. Skalski et al. (2021)

Appendix 4

Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS): Turkish version

Son 2 hafta boyunca kaybınızla ilişkili aşağıdaki düşünce, duygu veya davranışları ne sıklıkta yaşadınız?		Hiç	Birkaç gün	Günlerin yarısından fazlası	Neredeyse her gün
1.	Ölenle birlikte olmak için ölmeyi diledim.	0	1	2	3
2.	Kaybım nedeniyle hayattaki rolümle ilgili kafa karışıklığı yaşadım veya benliğimi kaybettiğimi hissettim.	0	1	2	3
3.	Bu kayıp yüzünden hiçbir şey bana çok önemli görünmedi.	0	1	2	3
4.	Ölen hakkında olumlu anılar bulmakta zorlandım.	0	1	2	3
5.	Ölen olmadan hayatın ya anlamsız, boş olduğuna ya da devam edemeyeceğine inandım.	0	1	2	3

1. Note. The above version of the PGS is based on Evren et al. (2022). Please contact the authors of this paper for an official version of this measure:
2. Evren et al. (2022)