Distinctiveness of symptoms of prolonged grief, depression, and post-traumatic stress in bereaved children and adolescents

Table 1 Demographic variables, loss-related characteristics, and symptom-scores in children and adolescents samples

	Children (N = 197)	Adolescents (N = 135)
Demographic characteristics
Gender, N (%)
Boys	99 (50.3)	44 (32.6)
Girls	98 (49.7)	91 (67.4)
Age (years), M (SD); range	9.9 (1.3); 8–12	14.9 (1.5); 13–18
Loss characteristics
Deceased is N (%)
Mother	38 (19.3)	42 (31.1)
Father	123 (62.4)	63 (46.7)
Sibling	16 (8.1)	13 (9.6)
Other relative	17 (8.6)	15 (11.1)
Cause of death is N (%)
Illness	105 (53.3)	77 (57.0)
Violent (accident, suicide, homicide)	48 (24.4)	26 (19.3)
Unexpected medical cause	34 (17.3)	28 (20.7)
Other cause	8 (4.1)	4 (3.0)
Experienced loss as unexpected? N (%)
Yes	57 (28.9)	46 (34.1)
No	140 (71.1)	86 (63.7)
Time since loss (months) (M (SD); range)	31.7 (23.6); 1–119	34.0 (28.4); 2–119
Symptom Severity Scores
Prolonged Grief (IPG)	50.8 (11.2)	50.3 (12.8)
Depression (CDI)	6.4 (6.6)	12.8 (7.5)
PTSD (CPSS)	13.3 (9.4)	14.5 (10.7)

Samples sizes differ due to occasional missing values
CDI Children’s Depression Inventory, CPSS Child Post-traumatic Stress-Disorder Symptom Scale, IPG Inventory of Prolonged Grief
* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001