Prevalence and predictors of prolonged grief symptoms among those bereaved from a drug-related death in a convenience sample of Norwegian parents: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Drug-death bereaved parents are at risk of high levels of prolonged grief (PG) symptoms. We included 93 Norwegian drug-death bereaved parents in a cross-sectional survey and aimed to explain PG symptoms. High levels of PG symptoms (M = 30.69) were identified. Low level of self-efficacy and withdrawal from others were the most strongly associated with high levels of grief symptoms (p < .001). However, contrary to our expectations, social support, gender, employment, demanding life situations, and perceived proximity did not correlate significantly to PG symptoms. Our findings can enhance individual follow-up of drug-death bereaved parents.

Acknowledgments

A special thanks to the bereaved parents for sharing their experiences and giving of their time. Thank you to Professor Birgitte Espehaug for generously sharing her expertise in the field of statistics.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.