Prolonged Grief and Suicide Among Veterans

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The primary research question in this study will ask, among those receiving outpatient mental health services (MHS) at the Eastern Colorado Healthcare System (ECHCS)/Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), how many suffer from Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD)? Here, it is hypothesized that PGD will occur within the sample. A secondary aim of this study will be to investigate how often PGD co-occurs with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. Also, while PGD has been shown to have an effect on self-directed violence (SDV) among civilians (Prigerson, Bridge et al., 1999), no studies yet have examined the relationship between PGD and SDV among Veterans. Therefore, it also is hypothesized that as PGD severity increases among the Veteran sample, risk for SDV will increase as well. Additional research aims also will be addressed in this study. For one, it will be assessed which grief symptoms are most often reported among the Veteran sample. Also, no study has yet to examine if there are neuropsychological differences between PGD and PTSD. Therefore, another research question here is whether PGD indeed is neuropsychologically different from PTSD. Here, the exploratory hypothesis is that PGD sufferers will respond to a measure of multiple components of cognition (e.g., planning, sequencing, concentration, multitasking, and memory efficiency) in a manner that is significantly different from PTSD sufferers.

Official Title
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Examining Prolonged Grief Disorder and Its Relationship to Self-Directed Violence Among Veterans

Conditions
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Prolonged Grief Disorder, Suicidality

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: No intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Age 18 and above Not currently active duty in any branch of the military English-speaking Ability to adequately respond to specific questions regarding the informed consent procedure. Active case in Mental Health Services (MHS) at the Eastern Colorado Healthcare System (ECHCS)/Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) Exclusion Criteria: Currently active duty in any branch of the military Non-English-speaking Inability to adequately respond to questions regarding the informed consent procedure.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Veterans<br>Veterans receiving mental health services at the Eastern Colorado Healthcare System (ECHCS)/Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) | Other: No intervention<br>* This study will not contain a specific intervention<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Prolonged Grief Disorder- 13 |  | At least six months post-bereavement | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire |  | Within past month |