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Background: Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) is a new disorder included in ICD-11 (WHO, 2018). There is a growing body of literature surrounding the prevalence and correlates of ICD-11 PGD symptoms as assessed using various measures. This study was the first to assess levels of ICD-11 PGD symptoms as measured by the International Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (IPGDS), a self-report scale directly aligned with the ICD-11 definition of PGD, among the United Kingdom adult general population, and identify correlates. Method: Participants included 2025 adults who participated in Wave 5 of the COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium Study (C19PRC-UK). Prevalence rates of PGD were estimated based on two commonly used algorithms defined as 'strict' and 'moderate'. Sociodemographic, loss-related, and mental health correlates (i.e., anxiety, depression, mental health treatment seeking, loneliness) of strict and moderate PGD were then examined using multinomial logistic regressions. Results: It was found that 2.4% (n = 43) of participants met probable caseness for PGD using the strict criteria while 7.9% (n = 140) met probable caseness for PGD using the moderate criteria. Multinomial logistic regression analysis results showed, as predicted, that income, time since bereavement, death of a child, religiosity, and depression were associated with both moderate and strict PGD. Correlates of moderate PGD included country of residence, urbanicity, younger age of bereaved, and loneliness. Conclusions: This study highlights that some symptoms of PGD are commonly reported in the general population, although relatively few meet the criteria for clinical significance. The routine assessment for PGD following a bereavement is discussed and the development of appropriate interventions are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way many individuals go about their daily lives. This study attempted to model the complexity of change in lifestyle quality as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its context within the UK adult population. Methods: Data from the COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium Study (Wave 3, July 2020; N = 1166) were utilised. A measure of COVID-19-related lifestyle change captured how individuals' lifestyle quality had been altered as a consequence of the pandemic. Exploratory factor analysis and latent profile analysis were used to identify distinct lifestyle quality change subgroups, while multinomial logistic regression analysis was employed to describe class membership. Results: Five lifestyle dimensions, reflecting partner relationships, health, family and friend relations, personal and social activities, and work life, were identified by the EFA, and seven classes characterised by distinct patterns of change across these dimensions emerged from the LPA: (1) better overall (3.3%), (2) worse except partner relations (6.0%), (3) worse overall (2.5%), (4) better relationships (9.5%), (5) better except partner relations (4.3%), (6) no different (67.9%), and (7) worse partner relations only (6.5%). Predictor variables differentiated membership of classes. Notably, classes 3 and 7 were associated with poorer mental health (COVID-19 related PTSD and suicidal ideation). Conclusions: Four months into the pandemic, most individuals' lifestyle quality remained largely unaffected by the crisis. Concerningly however, a substantial minority (15%) experienced worsened lifestyles compared to before the pandemic. In particular, a pronounced deterioration in partner relations seemed to constitute the more severe pandemic-related lifestyle change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study represents the first assessment of the prevalence of trauma exposure, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (CPTSD), ever conducted in the general population of the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, prevalence of past-year mental health service use, comorbidity with major depression and generalized anxiety, and risk factors associated with PTSD and CPTSD were assessed. Methods: A nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized Irish adults (N = 1020) completed self-report measures of trauma history, trauma-related psychopathology, mental health service use, and concurrent mental health problems. Results: Lifetime exposure to one or more traumatic events was 82.3%, and 67.8% reported experiencing two or more traumatic events. Males and females significantly differed in their frequency of exposure to eight of 16 traumatic events. The past-month prevalence for PTSD was 5.0% (95% CI 3.7%, 6.3%) and 7.7% (95% CI 6.1%, 9.4%) for CPTSD. Of those who screened positive for PTSD or CPTSD, 48.6% accessed mental health care in the past year. Comorbidity with major depression and generalized anxiety was high, especially among those with CPTSD. Several unique and shared risk factors for PTSD and CPTSD were identified. Conclusion: Approximately one-in-eight Irish adults met diagnostic requirements for PTSD or CPTSD, and comorbidity with other disorders was high. History of interpersonal trauma and exposure to multiple types of trauma in different developmental periods were associated with CPTSD. Many individuals did not access mental health care revealing a substantial mental health treatment gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The World Health Organization's 11th revision to the International Classification of Diseases manual (ICD-11) will differentiate between two stress-related disorders: PTSD and Complex PTSD (CPTSD). ICD-11 proposals suggest that trauma exposure which is prolonged and/or repeated, or consists of multiple forms, that also occurs under circumstances where escape from the trauma is difficult or impossible (e.g., childhood abuse) will confer greater risk for CPTSD as compared to PTSD. The primary objective of the current study was to provide an empirical assessment of this proposal.Methods: A stratified, random probability sample of a Danish birth cohort (aged 24) was interviewed by the Danish National Centre for Social Research (N = 2980) in 2008-2009. Data from this interview were used to generate an ICD-11 symptom-based classification of PTSD and CPTSD.Results: The majority of the sample (87.1%) experienced at least one of eight traumatic events spanning childhood and early adulthood. There was some indication that being female increased the risk for both PTSD and CPTSD classification. Multinomial logistic regression results found that childhood sexual abuse (OR = 4.98) and unemployment status (OR = 4.20) significantly increased risk of CPTSD classification as compared to PTSD. A dose-response relationship was observed between exposure to multiple forms of childhood interpersonal trauma and risk of CPTSD classification, as compared to PTSD.Conclusions: Results provide empirical support for the ICD-11 proposals that childhood interpersonal traumatic exposure increases risk of CPTSD symptom development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Loneliness is a recognised public-health concern that is traditionally regarded as a unidimensional construct. Theories of loneliness predict the existence of subtypes of loneliness. In this study, latent class analysis (LCA) was used to test for the presence of loneliness subtypes and to examine their association with multiple mental health variables.Methods: A nationally representative sample of US adults (N = 1839) completed the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, along with self-report measures of childhood and adulthood trauma, psychological wellbeing, major depression, and generalized anxiety.Results: When treated as a unidimensional construct, 17.1% of US adults aged 18-70 were classified as lonely. However, the LCA results identified four loneliness classes which varied quantitatively and qualitatively: 'low' (52.8%), 'social' (8.2%), 'emotional' (26.6%), and 'social and emotional' (12.4%) loneliness. The 'social and emotional' class were characterised by the highest levels of psychological distress, followed by the 'emotional' class. The 'social' loneliness class had similar mental health scores as the 'low' loneliness class. Childhood and adulthood trauma were independently related to the most distressed loneliness classes.Conclusions: Current findings provide support for the presence of subtypes of loneliness and show that they have unique associations with mental health status. Recognition of these subtypes of loneliness revealed that the number of US adults aged 18-70 experiencing loneliness was twice as high as what was estimated when loneliness was conceptualized as a unidimensional construct. The perceived quality, not the quantity, of interpersonal connections was associated with poor mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]