The first clinical tool in Hindi for diagnosing prolonged grief disorder has been validated by researchers, addressing a critical gap in mental health care for Hindi-speaking communities.
A team of researchers from the City University of New York (CUNY) and Weill Cornell Medicine has successfully validated the first clinical tool in Hindi designed to diagnose prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a condition that is now recognized in leading psychiatric manuals.
This significant milestone addresses a long-standing gap in culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health care for Hindi-speaking communities in the United States and beyond, according to a release from CUNY.
Prolonged grief disorder refers to an intense and persistent form of grief that disrupts daily functioning long after the death of a loved one. It is classified as a distinct mental health condition in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases.
The absence of a validated assessment tool in Hindi—one of the world’s most widely spoken languages—has left many bereaved individuals without reliable pathways to diagnosis and support.
To address this issue, the research team translated, culturally adapted, and tested the Prolonged Grief Disorder-13 Revised Scale (PG-13-R), resulting in what is now known as the PG-13-R-H (Hindi version). This scale measures symptoms such as intense yearning and emotional pain, helping clinicians differentiate between normal grief and disordered grief.
The project was led by CUNY researchers, including Dr. Apeksha Mewani of Lehman College and Dr. Vincent Jones II of York College, along with collaborators Sungwoo (Justin) Kim, Dr. Kim Glickman, and scale originator Dr. Holly G. Prigerson of Weill Cornell Medicine. This cross-institutional effort was born out of a community need for better mental health resources.
The validation study surveyed 527 Hindi-speaking adults living in the United States, who were recruited online and through community outreach in culturally diverse Queens, New York. The results demonstrated that the Hindi scale is both reliable and valid, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.75, indicating consistent performance across items.
Approximately 15.6% of participants met the diagnostic criteria for PGD. Notably, 41.7% reported a death related to COVID-19, and 88.6% experienced an unexpected loss, both of which are recognized risk factors associated with prolonged grief.
For many participants, grieving in a diasporic context—where traditional rituals and extended family support structures may be lacking—may have compounded their distress.
The researchers emphasize that culturally tailored tools like the PG-13-R-H not only improve detection but also connect individuals with care that respects their linguistic and cultural frameworks. Dr. Mewani expressed hope that this tool would ensure that Hindi speakers can have their mental illness clinically diagnosed and receive the necessary mental health support.
Dr. Jones highlighted the importance of culturally grounded care, stating, “Language should never be a barrier to healing.” Dr. Prigerson, whose work laid the foundation for modern PGD research, noted that making the scale available in Hindi furthers the goal of “helping those who are mourning, who never found a name for what they were experiencing.”
The study, titled “Psychometric Properties, Stability, and Predictive Validity of the Hindi Version of the Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (PG-13-R-H),” has been published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.
Researchers believe that the scale will be beneficial not only in clinical settings but also for community health workers, counselors, and researchers aiming to improve mental health equity for Hindi-speaking populations, according to CUNY.