Citation

King DA, O'Riley AA, Thompson C, Conwell Y, He H, Kemp J. Arch. Suicide Res. 2014; 18(4): 445-452.

Affiliation

a Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs Canandaigua Medical Center.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13811118.2013.824842

PMID

24810270

Abstract

In July 2007, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) to create the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) in order to meet the unique needs of Veterans in distress. The current study utilized a mixed methods design to examine characteristics of male callers to the VCL.

RESULTS from qualitative analyses demonstrated that the majority of callers between April 1 and August 31, 2008 contacted the VCL with concerns related to mental health issues, suicide ideation, and substance abuse issues. Quantitative analyses demonstrated age differences associated with concerns presented by callers such that middle-aged and older callers were more likely to present with loneliness and younger callers were more likely to present with mental health concerns. The results of this study will help to inform future research designed to optimize the effectiveness of the VCL for suicide prevention in Veterans.

Language: en