TABLE 2.

Examples of free text responses by coding category.

Code	Example quote (type of bereavement in brackets)
1 No change in use	“It has not altered my drinking habits or my used of drugs. I would say that I am a social drinker and still am. I used to be also a social drug user as well, mainly weed, but I have not taken drugs in a very long time” (sudden natural causes).
2 Brief temporary increase (<1 week)	“It hasn’t affected me in the long term, but the night I found out what had happened I drank to try and forget about it, but instead I became more miserable and ended up going home in a ridiculous, drunken state” (suicide).
3 Stopped	“Stopped drinking alcohol immediate aftermath of bereavement as felt numb, alcohol appeared to have no effect on me and I was afraid to drink too much as I know alcohol is a depressant (I was depressed enough!)” (sudden unnatural causes)
4 Reduced	“I was more dedicated to not using drink or drugs for fear any use would tempt me to use them to drown my sorrows and lead to addiction” (suicide).
5 Increased (unclear if perceived as helpful or harmful)	“I have hit alcohol quite hard at certain times since the bereavement, sometimes I can go weeks without a single drop, but other times I could get drunk 5 days in a week” (sudden natural causes).
6 Increased (perceived as helpful)	“I definitely drink to numb myself and physically relax, and I would say I’ve drunk more heavily since Dad died” (sudden natural causes).
7 Increased (perceived as harmful)	“My drinking increased significantly and was self-destructive. Even though it was a death from natural causes I carried a lot of guilt about being alive when he wasn’t and this carried on to my 30th birthday (when I became older then he was) but I had managed to get a hold of and sort my drinking out a few months before this time. I never indulged in drugs” (sudden natural causes).
8 Increased (unclear if perceived as helpful or harmful) but then resumed pre-loss pattern of use	“For the couple of months following his death, I definitely drank more, but I think it was more a case of making sure I was out and busy all the time. Now my drinking habits are pretty much as they were” (sudden natural causes). “I drank a fair bit in the first year, whilst going out partying hard and trying to find oblivion. I now socially drink only” (suicide).
9 Increased (perceived as helpful) but then resumed pre-loss pattern of use	“In the first month following his death I was drinking excessively and smoking marijuana a lot to try and numb myself from the reality of what had happened” (sudden unnatural causes).
10 Increased (unclear if perceived as helpful or harmful) but then stopped	“After the bereavement I drunk a lot of alcohol and went out a lot but now I don’t drink at all” (sudden unnatural causes)
11 Unable to classify	“I feel guilty about drinking” (sudden unnatural causes) “Whenever I drink too much I become depressed and cry a lot about the death” (sudden natural causes).