Rescuers and the Rescued: A Study of Suicide Prevention Center Volunteers and Clients by Means of a Death Questionnaire

This research investigated the belief that crisis volunteers are similar to the people they help. Demographic and psychological characteristics were assessed for 51 suicide prevention workers and 31 suicide attempters utilizing a baseline group of 500 for comparison. Results indicate that the volunteers were significantly different than suicide attempters, and in fact were similar to helping professionals. Appropriate screening and training are encouraged. (LS)