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This self-assessment Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) , was originally developed by Holly G. Prigerson and colleagues . TraitProfiler provides an interactive digital version for educational, informational, and self-exploration purposes only.

Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG)

Background

About the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG)

The Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) is a widely used self-report questionnaire designed to assess prolonged grief reactions, emotional distress after bereavement, separation-related distress, and difficulties adapting following the death of a loved one.
The ICG was developed by Holly G. Prigerson and colleagues during the 1990s to identify symptoms associated with complicated grief, persistent grief reactions, and prolonged bereavement-related emotional difficulties.
The questionnaire evaluates emotional pain, longing, disbelief, emotional numbness, social withdrawal, grief-related distress, bitterness, loneliness, and difficulty adjusting after loss.
Research studies have demonstrated strong reliability and validity for the ICG across grief research, bereavement counseling, trauma studies, psychiatry, palliative care, and mental health settings.

Psychological Domains Measured

Separation Distress
Measures yearning, longing, emotional attachment, and distress related to separation from the deceased person.
Emotional Pain and Longing
Measures sadness, emotional suffering, loneliness, bitterness, grief-related pain, and emotional distress.
Difficulty Accepting the Loss
Measures disbelief, emotional shock, difficulty accepting the death, and problems emotionally processing the loss.
Social and Emotional Disconnection
Measures emotional numbness, reduced trust, social withdrawal, loneliness, and interpersonal disconnection after loss.
Traumatic Grief Reactions
Measures intrusive grief experiences, emotional overwhelm, avoidance, distressing sensory experiences, and trauma-related grief reactions.
Grief-Related Preoccupation
Measures persistent thoughts, mental preoccupation, emotional focus on the deceased person, and grief-related rumination.
The ICG is commonly used in grief counseling, bereavement research, trauma studies, psychiatry, palliative care, and mental health settings. The questionnaire is intended as a screening instrument and should not be used as a standalone diagnostic tool.

Procedure

This questionnaire is designed to evaluate emotional, cognitive, interpersonal, and behavioral experiences associated with grief and bereavement after the death of a loved one.

Participants select the response option that best reflects how often they experience each grief-related thought, feeling, or emotional reaction.

The assessment focuses on longing, sadness, disbelief, emotional pain, loneliness, grief-related preoccupation, emotional disconnection, and difficulty adjusting after loss.

Participation

This assessment is designed for adolescents and adults who have experienced the death of a loved one and are interested in understanding grief-related emotional experiences and bereavement adjustment.

The questionnaire is intended for educational, screening, and research purposes only.

Results should not be considered a clinical diagnosis or substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric, grief counseling, or medical evaluation.

Scoring & Interpretation

Responses are scored according to the frequency and intensity of grief-related emotional experiences, separation distress, emotional pain, and difficulty adjusting after loss.

Higher scores generally indicate stronger prolonged grief reactions, emotional distress, grief-related preoccupation, loneliness, emotional pain, and difficulties adapting following bereavement.

Some items measure emotional numbness, disbelief, avoidance, social withdrawal, or trauma-related grief reactions associated with complicated grief experiences.

Dimensional scores are also calculated to evaluate specific grief-related psychological domains independently.

Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) Questionnaire

Instructions & Terms

Below is the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), a digitally adapted 19- items self-assessment questionnaire. This assessment does not provide a clinical diagnosis, medical determination, or substitute for professional psychological evaluation.Please answer each question honestly based on your experiences since the death of the person you lost.

Select the option that best reflects how frequently each experience, emotion, or thought occurs in your daily life.

There are no right or wrong answers. Some grief reactions are common after bereavement, while stronger or more persistent grief-related experiences may indicate ongoing emotional distress or difficulty adapting after loss.

Question 1 of 19 Grief-Related Preoccupation

I think about this person so much that it’s hard for me to do the things I normally do


Question 2 of 19 Emotional Pain and Longing

Memories of the person who died upset me


Question 3 of 19 Difficulty Accepting the Loss

I feel I cannot accept the death of the person who died


Question 4 of 19 Separation Distress

I feel myself longing for the person who died


Question 5 of 19 Grief-Related Preoccupation

I feel drawn to places and things associated with the person who died


Question 6 of 19 Emotional Pain and Longing

I can’t help feeling angry about his/her death


Question 7 of 19 Difficulty Accepting the Loss

I feel disbelief over what happened


Question 8 of 19 Traumatic Grief Reactions

I feel stunned or dazed over what happened


Question 9 of 19 Social and Emotional Disconnection

Ever since he/she died, it is hard for me to trust people.


Question 10 of 19 Social and Emotional Disconnection

Ever since he/she died, I feel as if I have lost the ability to care about other people or I feel distant from people I care about


Question 11 of 19 Emotional Pain and Longing

I feel lonely a great deal of the time ever since he/she died


Question 12 of 19 Traumatic Grief Reactions

I have pain in the same area of my body or have some of the same symptoms as the person who died


Question 13 of 19 Traumatic Grief Reactions

I go out of my way to avoid reminders of the person who died


Question 14 of 19 Emotional Pain and Longing

I feel that life is empty without the person who died


Question 15 of 19 Traumatic Grief Reactions

I hear the voice of the person who died speak to me


Question 16 of 19 Traumatic Grief Reactions

I see the person who died stand before me


Question 17 of 19 Emotional Pain and Longing

I feel that it is unfair that I should live when this person died


Question 18 of 19 Emotional Pain and Longing

I feel bitter over this person’s death


Question 19 of 19 Social and Emotional Disconnection

I feel envious of others who have not lost someone close




Psychometric Norms

1
Participants
67%
Community Mean
0%
Sample SD
67%
Highest Observed Score
67%
Lowest Observed Score
2026–2026
Collection Period

Current normative data for theCurrent normative data for the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) are derived from 1 anonymous participant responses collected through TraitProfiler between 2026 and 2026. All response data are collected anonymously and are intended exclusively for educational, psychometric, and non-commercial research purposes.

Sources
  1. Prigerson, and colleagues Inventory of Complicated Grief: A scale to measure maladaptive symptoms of loss. Psychiatry research vol. 59,1-2 (1995)