Predictors of Clergy's Ability to Fulfill a Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Role.

Catholic, Jewish and Protestant clergy (n = 801) completed a survey to identify predictors of clergy's ability to fulfill a suicide gatekeeper role. Exploratory backward stepwise regression identified predictors of risk identification including suicide knowledge, religion, conducting suicide funerals, having an attitude that people have a right to die, age, and race. Predictors of ability to intervene include suicide knowledge, training, religion, right to die attitude, and ethnicity. Recommendations include more suicide training and clergy self-care.

Clergy as Suicide Prevention Gatekeepers.

801 U.S. Catholic, Jewish and Protestant clergy reported on their suicide gatekeeping activities. Using vignettes, they identified suicide risk and selected interventions for three risk levels. Two-thirds of the sample who provide counseling reported at least one contact from a suicidal person per year. Clergy were significantly more concurrent with experts in identifying risk and selecting interventions with high risk but deviated more from the experts with low and medium risk. Most reported needing more training.