Persistent complex bereavement symptoms explain impairments above depression, posttraumatic stress, and separation anxiety: an incremental validity study

Abstract

The present study examined the incremental validity of persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD) symptoms using an on-line survey of 255 bereaved college students. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses examined the extent to which PCBD symptoms explained unique variance in different domains of life impairment, beyond symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress, and separation anxiety. The results supported the incremental validity of PCBD symptoms for fear of future losses, sleep impairment, and work/social impairment. However, PCBD symptoms did not account for loneliness scores.

These findings collectively support the validity and clinical utility of the DSM-5’s PCBD construct.