Grief on the margins: The death of a family member to substance use

Author

Adair ShawFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

Social Work

Faculty/School

Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work

First Advisor

Cheryl-Anne Cait

Advisor Role

Mentor/Guide

Second Advisor

Ginette Lafreniere

Advisor Role

Thesis Committee Member

Abstract

Despite Canada's high death rates from substance use, there is limited research on the sociopsychological impact on families, who often face stigma and disenfranchised grief. This study explores how family members make meaning of a substance-related death. Through qualitative inquiry, eleven family members were interviewed on their experience of grief from substance death. The imprint of losing a family member to mental illness and substance use is fraught with intergenerational grief, ambiguity, prolonged mental-emotional distress, and relationship challenges. Substance death was also associated with stigma, social withdrawal, and shame for many participants. However, grievers reconstructed the socially prescribed negative perceptions and treatment of families impacted by substance death through education, supportive community, art, and resistance. Spirituality and relationships with non-human kin also emerged as healing in grief. Through these common avenues, participants restory their narratives and embody the wise helpers they would have benefited from in vulnerable moments of grief. This study supports the need for substance death grief literacy and highlights the implications for social work practice.

Recommended Citation

Shaw, Adair, "Grief on the margins: The death of a family member to substance use" (2025). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 2755.
https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2755

Convocation Year

2025