Participants with prolonged grief--how do they benefit from grief group participation?

Data analyzed in this article is part of a study conducted to explore grief support groups in Norway. Participants that fulfilled the criteria of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) were compared with participants that did not in order to explore whether they differed on satisfaction and experiences with participation. To allow for comparison, a subsample of 22 participants that fulfilled the criteria of PGD were drawn from the total of 262 participants. Demographic and loss-related variables were analyzed to explore factors associated with PGD. Fulfillment of PGD was then analyzed to explore the group's effect on life quality and overall satisfaction. The main finding is that participants who fulfill the criteria of prolonged grief are in general less satisfied with the groups and report less positive effect on life quality. We also found age- and gender-differences regarding fulfillment of PGD, with older bereaved women especially at risk of developing symptoms of PGD.