| Summary: | Background: Grief is an emotional reaction to a loss with negative grief cognitions making grief more complicated to process. Qualitative research has identified factors that may make the removal of a child challenging for birthparents including; blame of self or others, challenges to identity and perception of support from others. Aims: This study piloted the use of a grief questionnaire with an addictions population. It aimed to identify if birthparents experience grief following the removal of their child. The study aimed to identify the differences and similarities in grief between birthparents and bereaved individuals. Design: A cross-sectional design compared three groups from an addictions service; group one birthparents who have had a child removed from their care, group two a bereavement group with on-going distress and group three an addictions population control group who are no longer distressed by a past bereavement. Setting: Participants were 29 community addiction team patients. Measurements: A negative grief cognitions questionnaire (Grief Cognitions Questionnaire), a measure of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and substance use were conducted. Findings: A three-group nonparametric analysis identified that the birthparents and bereaved groups had significantly more negative grief cognitions compared to the control group with large effect sizes. Birthparents reported slightly more negative grief cognitions that the bereaved group with a small effect size. Further nonparametric statistical testing identified that birthparents experience significantly more grief cognitions about self-blame than bereaved individuals with a large effect size. Birthparents reported slightly more negative grief cognitions about self and others with medium effect sizes. Conclusions: Birthparents and bereaved individuals both experience grief as measured by the grief questionnaire, with birthparents experiencing more negative cognitions around self-blame, self and others. Suggestions are made about improving accessibility and feasibility of recruitment and design for future studies.
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