Chinese Grief Screening Tool Shows Acceptable Psychometric Properties

Researchers published a study in BMC Palliative Care evaluating the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Brief Grief Questionnaire, or BGQ, among bereaved family members in China. The study, conducted between May and November 2023, aimed to assess whether this brief instrument could serve as a reliable screening tool for prolonged grief reactions in a cultural context where bereavement is often family-centered. The findings indicate that the questionnaire demonstrated acceptable preliminary psychometric properties, supporting its potential utility in clinical practice and research settings for early identification of distress among those who have lost a loved one.

The research was a cross-sectional study involving 220 bereaved family members of patients with chronic diseases who had died at a tertiary hospital. The primary objective was to evaluate the reliability, content validity, construct validity, and concurrent validity of the translated and culturally adapted BGQ.

Methodologically, the team translated the BGQ into Chinese and adapted it for cultural relevance before administering it to the sample. Reliability was measured using Cronbach’s alpha and split-half reliability, while validity was examined through content, construct, and concurrent measures.

The results showed that the mean BGQ score for the participants was 5.6 with a standard deviation of 2.1. Additionally, 21.4% of participants scored 8 or higher. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.72, and the split-half reliability was 0.73, indicating acceptable internal consistency.

Content validity indices were also strong, with item-level indices ranging from 0.83 to 1.00 and an average scale-level index of 0.97. Construct validity was further supported by exploratory factor analysis, which confirmed a one-factor structure for the BGQ. The factor explained 54.745% of the variance, and item loadings ranged from 0.674 to 0.798.

In an independent subsample, confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable model fit, reinforcing the structural validity of the instrument. Concurrent validity was assessed by correlating BGQ total scores with the Inventory of Complicated Grief, or ICG, total scores. The correlation coefficient was 0.74, indicating a strong positive relationship between the two measures.

Its brevity and ease of administration make it a potentially useful rapid screening tool for prolonged grief reactions in clinical practice and research.

Subject of Research: Validation of the Chinese Brief Grief Questionnaire among bereaved family members

Article Title: Validation of the brief grief questionnaire among Chinese bereaved family members

Article References: Wang, X., Li, C., Jiang, Y., Hu, S., Wang, C., Chen, L., & Zhao, J. (2026). Validation of the brief grief questionnaire among Chinese bereaved family members. BMC Palliative Care. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-026-02430-4

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12904-026-02430-4

Keywords: grief, psychometrics, China, bereavement, screening, mental health, validation, clinical practice, brief, questionnaire, Chinese, bereaved