Among 290 recently bereaved Ukrainian adults, latent profile analysis identified three mental health profiles that differed mainly in prolonged grief symptoms and well-being, with most participants in the moderate or high prolonged grief profiles, and prolonged grief and well-being appearing to lie on opposite ends of a single continuum rather than being distinct dimensions.
A majority of recently bereaved Ukrainian participants scored above the threshold for clinically relevant prolonged grief symptoms.
Latent profile analysis identified three distinct mental health profiles based on ICD-11 prolonged grief symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and well-being.
The distribution of profiles differed from previous studies, in which low-symptom/high-well-being profiles were typically most common.
Membership in the high PG/low well-being profile was associated with loss of a close person and forced displacement.
Participants had experienced losses due to both illness and war.
Posttraumatic stress symptoms were low across all three profiles, so the profiles were differentiated mainly by PG symptoms and well-being.
PG and well-being appeared to lie on opposite ends of a single continuum, providing limited support for the dual-continua model.
This study looked at the mental health of 290 Ukrainian adults who had lost a loved one, on average about five months earlier, during the full-scale Russian invasion. Researchers measured prolonged grief symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and well-being, and used statistical methods to group people with similar patterns. About 40% of losses were due to war and 43% due to illness, and over a third of participants had lost a partner or child. Over half of participants (55%) had grief symptoms at a clinically relevant level. Three groups emerged: a small group (13%) with low grief and high well-being, a large group (57%) with moderate grief and moderate well-being, and a group (30%) with high grief and low well-being. The high-grief group was more likely to include people who had lost a partner or child and people who had been forced to leave their homes. This pattern differs from earlier studies elsewhere, where most bereaved people showed low symptoms and high well-being. This research suggests that ongoing war-related stressors may make grief harder for bereaved Ukrainians, and that grief and well-being tended to move in opposite directions rather than independently. The findings may help identify who is most in need of support, such as those who lost close family or were displaced, which matters where access to mental health care is limited. The study captured people at one point in time, so it cannot show how these patterns change over time.</parameter>
Pociūnaitė-Ott J, Boelen P, Frankova I, Norkina I, Rispa Hoyos M, Lenferink L. (2026). Profiles of mental health indicators among Ukrainian people recently bereaved in the context of the full-scale Russian invasion.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358123