Uncovering blind spots in the intention to provide adequate help to suicidal individuals: An exploratory web-based experiment

Background: An adequate reaction from families, friends, and colleagues who can provide help to suicidal individuals is a preventive factor. Despite the logical assumption that the mere presence of risk factors in individuals needing help may affect others' helping intentions, empirical evidence is lacking in this regard. Method: We tested whether the presence of various risk factors influences the intention to provide help to suicidal individuals. Individuals (N = 890) were exposed to a vignette in which they were asked to imagine meeting a distant acquaintance. Such persons talk about serious problems and suddenly use the word “suicide.” In a one-factorial between-subjects design with 21 groups, we manipulated person-related attributes corresponding to risk factors for suicide. Results: Some attributes increased helping intentions: male gender, very young and old age, homosexuality and transsexuality, terminal illness, previous nonsuicidal self-injury, previous suicide attempt, and seeking out lethal means. However, some attributes did not: female gender, major depression, chronic pain, different stressful life events, previously experienced violence, a family history of suicide, and a cry for help. Limitations: We measured self-reported behavioral intentions. Conclusions: Although people seem to adapt their helping intentions in response to some attributes, there seem to be many blind spots.