Overview
- Researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 975 UK adults, finding that 32.6% had lost a pet and 21% of those judged that loss their most distressing bereavement.
- Among people who had lost pets, 7.5% met ICD-11 criteria for prolonged grief disorder, a rate comparable to losses of close friends, grandparents, siblings or partners.
- Statistical testing found full measurement invariance, indicating PGD symptoms manifest the same way after pet and human deaths.
- Pet bereavement accounted for an estimated 8.1% of all PGD cases in the sample, and those with pet loss were 27% more likely to develop PGD symptoms.
- PGD diagnosis currently requires a human death under ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR, and the study’s author urges criteria changes and better support for bereaved pet owners.