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What Exactly Is “Complicated” Grief? A Scoping Research Literature Review to Understand Its Risk Factors and Prevalence

Bibliographic Data

ID13630653
AuthorsDonna M Wilson (0000-0002-4860-8440, University of Alberta, corresponding author), Elizabeth Mirekuwaa Darko (0000-0003-1394-3641, University of Alberta), Elizabeth Kusi‐Appiah (University of Alberta), Elizabeth Kusi-Appiah (University of Alberta), Sophia J Roh (University of Alberta), Arnel Ramic (University of Alberta), Begoña Errasti‐Ibarrondo (0000-0002-1359-3330, Universidad de Navarra), Begoña Errasti-Ibarrondo (Universidad de Navarra)
Year2020
Volume86
Issue2
Pages471-487
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0030222820977305
PMID33259275
OpenAlexW3109288996
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited33

Most people will experience bereavement grief, but some suffer from persistent or prolonged (PoP) grief, grief that used to be identified as "complicated" before recent DSM-5 and ICD-11 definitional developments. In 2020, a scoping literature review was undertaken to identify and consolidate contemporary evidence from research articles published in 2018 or 2019 in paper-based and open access peer-review journals on: (a) the incidence or prevalence of PoP grief, and (b) who develops it or is diagnosed as suffering from it, and correspondingly what causative factors or predictors are associated with PoP grief. All of the 11 identified research articles reported an incidence or prevalence rate, with these varying greatly, but with a much higher rate now that a 6-month post-death measurement timeframe is used. The predictors or factors among people who were identified as having PoP grief also varied considerably, although sudden and unexpected deaths were often implicated

Complicated grief · Disenfranchised grief · Grief · Incidence (geometry · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Traumatic grief · Clinical Psychology · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology

  • A scoping research literature review to explore bereavement humor

    Open Access•Donna M Wilson, Kathleen A Bykowski et al.•Current Psychology•2023

  • Silent Ripples

    Open Access•Paula Diab, Katrina Andrews et al.•Australian Social Work•2026

  • Grief and Substance Use

    Open Access•Ciera Davidson, Laura J Mitchell et al.•Contemporary Drug Problems•2026

  • Grief Trajectories in Men and Women

    Open Access•Andrea Redondo-Armenteros, Andrea Redondo‐Armenteros et al.•International Journal of Psychology•2026

  • Gender differences in grief and growth

    Jacques Cherblanc, Isabelle Côté et al.•Death Studies•2025

  • A scoping research literature review to map the evidence on grief triggers

    Open Access•Donna M Wilson, Leah Underwood et al.•Social Science & Medicine•2021

  • Grief and Posttraumatic Growth in Individuals Who Have Experienced the Death of a Loved One From Six Latin American Countries

    Open Access•Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez, Andy Rick Sánchez-Villena et al.•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2025

  • Humor

    Open Access•Donna M Wilson, Michelle Knox et al.•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2022

  • Experiences of Complicated Grief – A Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

    Open Access•Lars Petter Sødal Bergsmark, Laura Skov Illum•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2024

  • Prolonged Grief and Perceived Mental and Physical Health

    Open Access•Ecem Sarper, Sílvia Luís et al.•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2026

  • Evaluating the Effect of Participation in Bereavement Support Groups on Perceived Mental Well-Being and Grief Reactions

    Open Access•Asta B Petursdottir, Hrund S Thorsteinsson•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2024

  • An Integrative Conceptual Framework for Grief-Informed Clinical Supervision

    Open Access•Ibrahim Akmese, Ayşegül Erçevik•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2026

  • Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Bereaved

    Open Access•Soraya A Janu, Steff King et al.•Illness Crisis & Loss•2024

  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

    American Psychiatric Association American Psychiatric Association, Ewer Ewer•Diagnostic And Statistical Manual…•2013

  • Prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in adult bereavement

    Open Access•Marie Lundorff, Helle Holmgren et al.•Journal of Affective Disorders•2017

  • 'Scoping the scope' of a cochrane review

    Rebecca Armstrong, Belinda J Hall et al.•Journal of Public Health•2011

  • The integrative review

    Open Access•Robin Whittemore, Kathleen A Knafl et al.•Journal of Advanced Nursing•2005

  • Scoping studies

    Open Access•Danielle Levac, Heather Colquhoun et al.•Implementation Science•2010

  • A typology of reviews

    Open Access•Maria J Grant, Andrew Booth•Health Information & Libraries…•2009

  • Which Psychopathological Syndromes Could Be Associated with the Risk of Suicide among Substance Users

    Open Access•Laura Masferrer, Elisenda Escalé-Muntañà et al.•International Journal of…•2018

  • Grief and Avoidant Death Attitudes Combine to Predict the Fading Affect Bias

    Open Access•Jeffrey A Gibbons, Sherman A Lee et al.•International Journal of…•2018

  • Examining Linkages Between Bereavement Grief Intensity and Perceived Death Quality

    Open Access•Donna M Wilson, Roy Macleod et al.•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2016

  • Bereavement grief

    Donna M Wilson, Joachim Cohen et al.•Death Studies•2017

  • Scoping studies

    Hilary Arksey, Lisa O’malley•International Journal of Social…•2005

Unique citing works13
Citations per year2,6
Citation span2021 - 2026 (6)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 13
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