Polish version of the Inventory of Complicated Grief - preliminary validation

Aim. The purpose of the following study was to verify the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Inventory of Complicated Grief. Method. 278 people who experienced loss of a close relative or a friend participated in the research on adaptation of the tool. The following research methods were applied: ICG (Inventory of Complicated Grief), BDI (Beck Depression Inventory), STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), IES-R (Impact of Events Scale-Revised), AHS (Adult Hope Scale), LOT-R (Life Orientation Test-Revised), GSES (General Self-Efficacy Scale), MSTAT-2 (Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance). Results. The statistical analyses conducted as part of the research prove the Polish version of the ICG to be a reliable and valid tool (Cronbach's alpha = 0.941). A moderate positive correlation was noted between the overall ICG score and depression (r = 0.50; p < 0.001), post-traumatic stress disorder (r = 0.67; p < 0.001) and trait anxiety (r = 0.59; p < 0.001). The general ICG results also display negative correlation between variables related to positive expectations of the future: optimism (r = - 0.37; p < 0.001), hope for success (r= - 0.19; p = 0.001), general self-efficacy (r = - 0.27; p < 0.001), and ambiguity tolerance (r = - 0.27; p < 0.001). The conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the one-factor model of the Polish version of the Inventory of Complicated Grief can be considered well-fitted to the data (correlation of measurement errors was allowed). Conclusions. Preliminary studies on the adaptation of the Polish version of the ICG prove, therefore, that it is a valid and reliable tool. However, further research is needed to help better understand the structure of complicated grief symptoms.