The Role of Meaning-Making on the Duration of Grief Among Suicide Loss Survivors

Abstract

This study examined the impact of meaning-making of loss on the duration of grief and the moderating role of cause of death. This cross-sectional study recruited 320 participants who experienced loss from suicide or other causes. Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing meaning-making using the Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale and complicated grief using the Inventory of Complicated Grief. General linear models were applied to examine the hypotheses. We observed that cause of death (suicide vs other causes) moderated the associations between meaning-making and the duration of grief. The results were further validated using the bootstrap resampling. The effects between meaning-making and the duration of grief were significant among suicide loss survivors, whereas this effect was not observed among participants who experienced loss from other causes. This study highlights the critical role of meaning-making of loss in affecting the duration of grief among suicide loss survivors.