Prolonged grief disorder in bereaved parents: Exploring impacts and treatment pathways

Table 1 Diagnostic criteria for prolonged grief disorder in International Classification of Diseases, 11^th revision, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5^th Edition, Text Revision

Criterion	ICD-11	DSM-5-TR
Event criterion	Experience of bereavement due to the death of a significant other, such as a partner, parent, or child	Death of a close individual at least 12 months prior (or 6 months for children/adolescents)
Core symptoms	Persistent grief response marked by either longing for the deceased, or preoccupation with the deceased	Grief response with one or both of the following: Intense yearning/longing for the deceased, or preoccupation with thoughts or memories of the deceased
Emotional distress	Intense emotional distress including sadness, anger, guilt, or difficulty finding meaning in life	At least three symptoms from a set including identity disruption, disbelief, emotional numbness, and intense loneliness, occurring most days for over a month
Functional impairment	The grief response leads to substantial difficulties in personal, social, or occupational functioning	Symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in daily functioning
Cultural context	Symptoms persist beyond what is culturally or socially expected for the individual’s context	The intensity and duration of grief surpass culturally accepted norms for bereavement
Differentiation	Symptoms must not be better explained by other mental health conditions, substance use, or medical issues	Grief-related disturbance cannot be attributed to another psychological or medical condition

DSM-5-TR: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5^th Edition, Text Revision; ICD-11: International Classification of Diseases, 11^th revision.