Brief Grief Questionnaire: A Quick Screening Tool for Complicated Grief

What the Brief Grief Questionnaire Measures

The Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ) is a 5-item clinical screening tool developed by Dr. M. Katherine Shear, one of the leading researchers in prolonged grief disorder treatment. It's designed to do one thing well: flag whether someone's grief has crossed the threshold from painful-but-normal into territory that warrants professional assessment.

Unlike longer instruments, the BGQ takes about two minutes. That brevity is the point — it's built for primary care settings, workplace wellness checks, or anyone sitting at their kitchen table at midnight wondering whether what they're feeling is still within the range of normal.

How the Screening Works

The BGQ evaluates five dimensions of grief experience. Each item is scored 0 (not at all), 1 (somewhat), or 2 (a lot):

1. Trouble accepting the death — Do you still struggle to believe it actually happened?
2. Grief interference — Does your grief get in the way of daily activities, work, or relationships?
3. Intrusive imagery — Do images or thoughts of the death or the deceased intrude when you don't want them?
4. Avoidance — Do you go out of your way to avoid reminders of the person who died?
5. Social disconnection — Do you feel cut off or distant from other people since the death?

Score interpretation:

• 0–3: Below the elevated-risk cutoff; a low score does not rule out the need for support.
• 4–7: Significant risk of complicated grief. A clinical assessment is recommended.
• 8–10: Probable prolonged grief disorder. Professional evaluation should happen promptly.

What the BGQ Can and Cannot Tell You

The BGQ is a screener, not a diagnostic tool. A score of 4 or higher doesn't mean you have prolonged grief disorder — it means you should talk to a professional who can make that determination. Think of it like a blood pressure cuff: an elevated reading tells you something needs attention, but it doesn't diagnose the cause.

For a more detailed self-assessment, the PG-13-Revised (PG-13-R) is the 13-item instrument that maps directly to the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for prolonged grief disorder. A score of 30 or higher on the PG-13-R indicates probable PGD. The two instruments complement each other — use the BGQ as a quick check, then follow up with the PG-13-R if the result warrants deeper investigation.

When to Take the Screening

Timing matters. The DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for prolonged grief disorder require at least 12 months to have passed since the death for adults (6 months for children and adolescents). A high BGQ score before that threshold does not establish PGD. For adults whose loss is more recent than 12 months, the product research recommends screening for acute stress, depression, or PTSD rather than PGD.

Consider taking the screener if:

• It's been more than a year and the intensity of your grief hasn't shifted
• You've noticed you're actively restructuring your life to avoid reminders
• People around you have expressed concern about your functioning
• You're finding it impossible to envision any kind of future

What to Do with Your Results

If your score suggests elevated risk, the next step isn't panic — it's preparation. Print or save your results and bring them to a clinical appointment. Grief-literate therapists specifically look for the pattern the BGQ measures: persistent separation distress, avoidance, and functional impairment that hasn't improved with time.

The Complicated Grief Navigation System includes both the BGQ and PG-13-R as printable worksheets with scoring guides, along with a clinical intake preparation protocol that walks you through what to document and what to ask at your first appointment.

Screening yourself isn't self-diagnosis — it's arriving at the right conversation with the right data.