(PS10-66) Prolonged Grief and Substance Use Among Suicide-bereaved Loved Ones of Military Service Members

Veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than non-veterans (Schafer et al., 2022). Survivors of suicide loss, including bereaved military family members, are at an increased risk of developing prolonged grief disorder, a condition characterized by extenuating and severe symptoms of grief (Fisher et al., 2017; Young et al., 2022). Previous research reported high comorbidity between prolonged grief, alcohol, and other substance use (Bellini et al., 2018). However, there are limited studies available that examine how bereaved loved ones of military members cope with prolonged grief and whether the use of substances influences prolonged grief symptoms. The current study examined the relationship between prolonged grief and substance use. A total of 145 suicide bereaved family members and partners of military service members who completed a 2-week grief and trauma-focused intensive treatment program from April 2018-Feburary 2024 were included in the study. Most of our participants were female (90.8%), white (80.9%), and partners/spouses (57.3%) to a deceased veteran with a mean age of 48.1 (SD = 13.08). Participants completed self-reported measures including grief (Inventory of Complicated Grief) and substance use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Scale & Percentage of Days Abstinence; PDA) prior to the start of the program. Pearson’s correlation and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted in R. There was no significant association between prolonged grief symptoms and alcohol use (r = -0.05, p = 0.53). However, we found a significant association between marijuana use and prolonged grief (r = 0.25, p < 0.01). After adjusting for demographic variables (gender, age, and race), marijuana use explained 6.84% of prolonged grief symptoms (adjusted r² = 0.03, p = 0.02). There were no significant associations between any other drug reported in the PDA and prolonged grief. Our findings suggest marijuana usage amongst bereaved stricken loved ones of military service members and highlight the relevance of monitoring the usage of marijuana’s effect on mental health disorders. Our findings also revealed that there is not a significant relationship between prolonged grief and alcohol use, which is contrary to previous literature that has reported an increase of alcohol use after a loss by suicide (Parasi et al., 2019). Further research is necessary to explore the effects of marijuana use in prolonged grief within a more diverse sample. Future directions include conducting comparison analyses between all drug classes and effects of gender among suicide-bereaved loved ones of military service members.