Profiles of symptom co-occurrence in bereavement: a latent profile analysis of grief, trauma-related, and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Bereavement is a heterogeneous experience, and grief, trauma-related, and depressive symptoms may co-occur following a loss. This study examined latent patterns of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), disturbances in self-organization (DSO), and depressive symptom severity within an ICD-11 framework. A community sample of 583 bereaved adults in Türkiye completed validated self-report measures of PGD, PTSD and DSO, depression, and traumatic life event exposure. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted using z-standardized symptom-severity indicators, comparing solutions across covariance structures and numbers of profiles. Algorithm-based classifications were treated as probable caseness rather than clinician-confirmed diagnoses. LPA identified four latent symptom profiles, described in ascending order of severity: a Low-Symptom profile ( n  = 231, 39.6%), a Moderate-Symptom profile ( n  = 171, 29.3%), an Elevated-Symptom profile ( n  = 142, 24.4%), and a High-Symptom profile ( n  = 39, 6.7%). The profiles were differentiated primarily by overall symptom severity, with more modest differences in relative symptom configuration. Probable caseness generally increased across the more severe profiles. Higher traumatic life event exposure was associated with membership in more severe profiles, although the effect was small (η² = 0.03). Bereavement-related psychological distress was represented by symptom profiles that differed primarily along a severity gradient. The findings also suggest possible variation in relative symptom configuration, but the cross-sectional self-report design does not establish clinically distinct subgroups. Longitudinal research with independent clinical validation is needed to determine the stability and clinical utility of these provisional profiles.