1. I feel depressed
2. I find it hard to get along with certain people
3. I take medicine for my nerves
4. I feel empty inside
5. I can’t keep up with my usual activities
6. I feel guilty when I think about the baby
7. I feel a need to talk about the baby
8. I have considered suicide since the loss
9. I feel physically ill when I think about the baby
10.I am grieving for the baby
11.I have considered suicide since the loss
12.I feel unprotected in a dangerous world since he/she died
13.I am frightened
14.I have let people down since the baby died
15.I try to laugh but nothing seems funny anymore
16.I very much miss the baby
17.I get cross at my friends & relatives more than I should
18.The best part of me died with the baby
19.It is painful to recall memories of the loss
20.Sometimes I feel like I need a professional counselor to help me get my life together again
21.I blame myself for the baby’s death
22.I get upset when I think about the baby
23.I feel as though I am just existing and not really living since he/she died
24.I feel worthless since he/she died
25.I cry when I think about him/her
26.I feel somewhat apart and remote even among friends
27.It is safer not to love
28.Time passes so slowly since the baby died
29.I find it difficult to make decisions since the baby died
30.I worry about what my future will be
31.I feel so lonely since he/she died
32.It feels great to be alive
33.Being a bereaved parent means being a second class citizen
Active Grief‚ Difficulty Coping‚ Despair
1= Strongly Disagree‚ 2= Disagree‚ 3= Neither Agree nor Disagree‚ 4=Agree‚ 5= Strongly Agree
Active Grief items 1‚ 4‚ 7‚ 10‚ 13‚ 16‚ 19‚ 22‚ 25‚ 28‚ and 31
Difficulty coping items 2‚ 5‚ 8‚ 11‚ 14‚ 17‚ 20‚ 23‚ 26‚ 29‚ and 32
Despair items 3‚ 6‚ 9‚ 12‚ 15‚ 18‚ 21‚ 24‚ 27‚ 30‚ and 33
Reverse-scored items 11 & 32
This instrument can be found at:
Toedter‚ L. J.‚ Lasker‚ J. N.‚ & Alhadeff‚ J. M. (1988). The Perinatal Grief Scale: Development and initial validation. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry‚ 58(3)‚ 435-449.
Potvin‚ Louise.‚ Lasker‚ Judith.‚ Toedter‚ Lori . (1989). Measuring grief: A short version of the perinatal grief scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment‚ 11(1)‚ 29–45.
Toedter‚ L. J.‚ Lasker‚ J. N.‚ & Janssen‚ E. M. (2001). International comparison of studies the perinatal grief scale: A decade of research on pregnancy loss. Death Studies‚ 25(3)‚ 205-228.
Potvin‚ Laskar‚ Toediter. (1989). Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS). In Fischer‚ Joel.‚ Corcoran‚ Kevin J. (2007 ). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1‚ Page (s): 405-406.
