Background: Law enforcement officers (LEOs) routinely respond to calls involving individuals with mental illness and act as gatekeepers to mental health services (Watson et al, 2014). Clear links have been established between suicide intervention training components for knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy and subsequent engagement in suicide intervention skills (Osteen et al., 2014); research supports the effective use of officer training in increasing community-based gatekeeper intervention practices (Compton et al, 2014). The research question answered here is: “Do LEOs’ knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy predict engagement in community-based interventions to (a) ask about suicide thoughts, (2) ask about a suicide plan, and (3) ask about access to lethal means.”
Method: This study utilized a cross-sectional, online anonymous national survey of law enforcement officers completing the Notional Toolkit on Officer-Involved Domestic Violence.
Sample: The survey had a 56% response rate (N=476). Most law enforcement officers (82%) had encountered a suicidal individual at some point in their career, with a median of 20 individuals. Approximately 75% of respondents reported previous on-the-job suicide intervention training.
Measures:
•Community-based intervention (scored 0-100%)
•Knowledge of Suicide Warning Signs and Intervention Behaviors (scored 0-100%) (Wyman et al., 2008)
•Attitudes toward Suicide Prevention (Herron et al., 2001) (scored 1-5 with lowers scores more positive)
•Perceived Preparedness for Gatekeeper Role (Wyman et al, 2008) (scored 1-7 with higher scores more positive)
Results (Predictors): On average officers scored 53% (SD=10%) on a suicide knowledge quiz. Attitudes were neutral-positive (M=2.0,SD=.61). Self-efficacy scores were high (M=5.0,SD=1.3).
Results (Outcomes): LEOs were asked to indicated the % of time they engaged in specific intervention skills when encountering an individual in the community at risk for suicide. On average, LEOs asked about suicidal thoughts 68% of the time, about suicide plans 60% of the time, and about access to lethal means 57% of the time.
Results (Regression analyses): Three linear regression analyses were conducted to determine if model IVs predicted suicide intervention outcomes. Training, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy were found to be significant predictors of all three intervention behaviors and Knowledge was not significant in any model. The overall model for asking about suicide thoughts had a moderate effect size (R2=.11,p<.001); parameter estimates were Training (b=8.93,95%CI:-1.05,18.91), Attitudes (b=-10.01,95%CI:-16.98,-3.03), and Self-Efficacy (b=6.03,95%CI:2.41,9.65).
The overall model for asking about a suicide plan had a moderate effect size (R2=.10,p<.001); parameter estimates were Training (b=10.09,95%CI:-.26,20.46), Attitudes (b=-8.28,95%CI:-15.62,-.95), and Self-Efficacy (b=6.79,95%CI:2.97,10.60).
The overall model for asking about access to lethal means had a small-moderate effect size (R2=.08,p<.001); parameter estimates were Training (b=10.72,95%CI:-.06,21.52), Attitudes (b=-7.46,95%CI:-14.98,.06), and Self-Efficacy (b=4.87,95%CI:.87,8.87).
Discussion: Findings from this study are congruent with a large body of research linking training, knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy to intervention behaviors. The importance of knowledge and attitudes to intervention behaviors is inconsistent across studies, and although attitudes seem to play and important role in this study, knowledge did not. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor in the current study and has been found to be an integral part of suicide intervention behaviors. Providing LEOs with high-quality training may support their intervention efforts in the community.
![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)