A Latent Class Analysis on Indicators of Early Prolonged Grief Disorder and Well‐Being Among Dutch Adults Bereaved During the First Year of the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Abstract

Most studies examining prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in people bereaved during the COVID‐19 pandemic are focused on psychopathology. However, mental health encompasses both absence of psychopathology and presence of well‐being. This is the first study examining symptom profiles of early PGD and subjective mental well‐being in 266 Dutch adults recently bereaved during the pandemic. Early PGD and well‐being indicators were assessed with the Traumatic Grief Inventory–Self Report Plus and the World Health Organization–Five Well‐Being Index, respectively. Latent class analysis identified four classes: low PGD/high well‐being (32%), low PGD/moderate well‐being (24%), moderate PGD/high well‐being (23%) and high PGD/low well‐being class (21%). People in the poorer mental health classes were more likely to be female, lower educated, suffering from a mental disorder, have a poor health status, closer kinship to the deceased, and higher risk of severe COVID‐19. Classifying adults according to symptom profiles of negative and positive outcomes provides a more complete picture of mental health in bereaved people and offers potential intervention targets.