Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home Care
<i>Background</i>: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the psychological comorbidity of PGD among bereaved family caregivers of palliative care cancer patients. We also examined the discriminant validity of two simple and reliable tools in correctly categorized individuals...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/13/2/37 |
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| author | Alberto Sardella Alessandro Musetti Pasquale Caponnetto Maria C. Quattropani Vittorio Lenzo |
| author_facet | Alberto Sardella Alessandro Musetti Pasquale Caponnetto Maria C. Quattropani Vittorio Lenzo |
| author_sort | Alberto Sardella |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background</i>: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the psychological comorbidity of PGD among bereaved family caregivers of palliative care cancer patients. We also examined the discriminant validity of two simple and reliable tools in correctly categorized individuals with PGD. <i>Methods</i>: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 157 bereaved participants (77.1% females, mean age = 43.50 ± 14.04 years, mean time since the loss = 3.59 years) recruited from three palliative home care services. These participants completed the Prolonged Grief Scale (PG-13) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). <i>Results</i>: The prevalence of PGD within the sample was 4.46% (i.e., = 7/157). Participants scored higher than the cut-off on the PG-13 and the HADS-D. Symptoms of PGD were positively correlated with depression levels. The ROC curve analysis showed that the HADS-D was outstanding in categorizing individuals with prolonged grief disorder from those without PGD. A HADS-D score of ≥7.5 was able to categorize participants with a sensitivity of 0.90 and a specificity of 0.73. <i>Conclusions</i>: Overall, these results highlight the relationship between grief and depression symptoms and their exceptional discriminant validity among correctly identified individuals with PGD. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:55:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-adc6e9987097493f9854887fa3ea3f9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2174-8144 2254-9625 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:55:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-adc6e9987097493f9854887fa3ea3f9c2023-11-16T20:09:55ZengMDPI AGEuropean Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education2174-81442254-96252023-02-0113249050010.3390/ejihpe13020037Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home CareAlberto Sardella0Alessandro Musetti1Pasquale Caponnetto2Maria C. Quattropani3Vittorio Lenzo4Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98124 Messina, ItalyDepartment of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy<i>Background</i>: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the psychological comorbidity of PGD among bereaved family caregivers of palliative care cancer patients. We also examined the discriminant validity of two simple and reliable tools in correctly categorized individuals with PGD. <i>Methods</i>: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 157 bereaved participants (77.1% females, mean age = 43.50 ± 14.04 years, mean time since the loss = 3.59 years) recruited from three palliative home care services. These participants completed the Prolonged Grief Scale (PG-13) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). <i>Results</i>: The prevalence of PGD within the sample was 4.46% (i.e., = 7/157). Participants scored higher than the cut-off on the PG-13 and the HADS-D. Symptoms of PGD were positively correlated with depression levels. The ROC curve analysis showed that the HADS-D was outstanding in categorizing individuals with prolonged grief disorder from those without PGD. A HADS-D score of ≥7.5 was able to categorize participants with a sensitivity of 0.90 and a specificity of 0.73. <i>Conclusions</i>: Overall, these results highlight the relationship between grief and depression symptoms and their exceptional discriminant validity among correctly identified individuals with PGD.https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/13/2/37clinical psychologypalliative carecaregiverprolonged grieflosscancer |
| spellingShingle | Alberto Sardella Alessandro Musetti Pasquale Caponnetto Maria C. Quattropani Vittorio Lenzo Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home Care European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education clinical psychology palliative care caregiver prolonged grief loss cancer |
| title | Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home Care |
| title_full | Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home Care |
| title_fullStr | Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home Care |
| title_short | Prolonged Grief Disorder and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression among Bereaved Family Caregivers in the Context of Palliative Home Care |
| title_sort | prolonged grief disorder and symptoms of anxiety and depression among bereaved family caregivers in the context of palliative home care |
| topic | clinical psychology palliative care caregiver prolonged grief loss cancer |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/13/2/37 |
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