Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale
Also known as: PG-13, Prigerson PG-13, Prolonged Grief Symptom Scale
The Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (PG-13) is a 13-item diagnostic assessment tool developed by Prigerson and Maciejewski to operationalize the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for Prolonged Grief Disorder. Designed as a structured clinical instrument, the PG-13 directly maps onto the symptomatic, cognitive, and functional criteria required for diagnosis, making it invaluable in clinical and research settings where standardized diagnostic assessment is needed.
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When to use it
The PG-13 is indicated for diagnostic evaluation of bereaved individuals presenting with prolonged, impairing grief symptoms, particularly in: psychiatric and psychological evaluation of complex bereavement cases; specialized grief clinics and bereavement counselling services; clinical research trials developing and testing Prolonged Grief Disorder treatments; forensic assessment (e.g., competency, criminal responsibility determinations requiring grief history); and stepped-care pathways for bereaved patients in primary care and emergency settings. Especially useful when clinical judgment alone is insufficient and a standardized, criterion-referenced diagnostic instrument is required.
Strengths & limitations
- Directly operationalizes DSM-5-TR Prolonged Grief Disorder diagnostic criteria, ensuring systematic and transparent diagnostic determination; improves diagnostic consistency across clinicians.
- Brief (13 items) and efficient; takes 5–10 minutes, allowing rapid diagnostic screening in time-pressured clinical settings.
- Criterion-referenced structure reduces subjective diagnostic impression; moves diagnosis from 'clinical feeling' to structured assessment.
- Extensively validated in diverse populations and cultural contexts; supported by large-scale epidemiological studies establishing diagnostic validity.
- Bridges research and clinical practice; same instrument can be used for case identification in research, clinical trials, and routine clinical care, enabling evidence-practice alignment.
- Binary diagnostic output (present/absent) loses information about symptom severity variation; does not distinguish mild from severe Prolonged Grief Disorder or track treatment response as sensitively as continuous symptom scales.
- Requires clinician judgment regarding criterion interpretation (e.g., what constitutes 'functional impairment' or 'cultural departure'); less suitable for fully self-administered screening without clinical review.
- Time-dependent: DSM-5-TR criteria require symptom duration ≥12 months post-loss; the PG-13 cannot be meaningfully applied in acute grief (first 12 months), limiting early identification and early intervention.
- Limited cultural validation; DSM-5-TR criteria themselves reflect Western, individualistic grief norms; may misclassify normative grief expressions in collectivist cultures as pathological.
- Assumes death of human; limited applicability to anticipatory grief, loss of role, loss of identity, or non-death losses where some grief processes apply.
Frequently asked
How does the PG-13 differ from the ICG?
The ICG (19 items, continuous score 0–76) measures complicated grief symptom severity and is used for screening and outcome measurement; a cutoff of ≥25 suggests complicated grief, but diagnosis requires clinical judgment. The PG-13 (13 items) directly operationalizes DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria and yields a binary diagnostic determination (Prolonged Grief Disorder present/absent). In practice, the ICG is used for symptom screening and treatment monitoring, while the PG-13 is used for formal diagnostic assessment.
Can the PG-13 be used before 12 months post-loss?
DSM-5-TR generally requires ≥12 months duration for Prolonged Grief Disorder diagnosis. However, earlier diagnosis (6–12 months post-loss) is permitted if symptoms are clearly excessive and cause significant impairment beyond what is expected in the first year of bereavement. The PG-13 can be administered at any time to assess symptom presence, but diagnostic determination typically awaits 12+ months unless clinical circumstances warrant earlier assessment.
Is the PG-13 copyrighted or available for clinical use?
The PG-13 is published in peer-reviewed literature and is available for clinical and research use. No licensing fee or permission is typically required for use in clinical practice or academic research. Clinicians should cite the original source (Prigerson & Maciejewski, 2008 or later validation studies) and confirm that their use aligns with institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee requirements.
Can the PG-13 be used to monitor treatment response over time?
The PG-13's binary diagnostic structure (present/absent) is less sensitive to symptom-level change during treatment; a patient may remain 'PG-13 positive' while showing significant improvement in individual symptoms. For monitoring treatment response, continuous measures like the ICG (which can show score reductions during therapy) are more appropriate. The PG-13 is best used at baseline to confirm diagnosis and at endpoint to assess diagnostic remission; use symptom severity scales for progress monitoring.
Sources
- Prigerson, H. G., & Maciejewski, P. K. (2008). Prolonged grief disorder: Defining the disorder and addressing its clinical and public health significance. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 77(6), 365–376. link ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 3). Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/bereavement-psychology/prolonged-grief-disorder-scale
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- AGSBereavement Psychology↔ compare
- HGRCBereavement Psychology↔ compare
- ICGBereavement Psychology↔ compare
- TRIGBereavement Psychology↔ compare