Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Social Work
Department
Social Work
First Advisor
Danielle Harrell
Abstract
Gatekeeper training is a suicide prevention strategy aimed at providing individuals who frequently interact with those potentially at risk of suicide with the necessary knowledge and skills to recognize signs and offer support. There is limited research exploring the impact of lived experience and prior mental health education on self-efficacy and attitude outcomes. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating how these factors impact self-efficacy and attitudes among college students gatekeepers. Participants (n= 652) were mostly female (62%), White (80%), Christian (72%), and straight (90%). Participants were divided into four groups based on different levels of lived experience, and an ANOVA was conducted to examine the impact of lived experience on self-efficacy and attitudes. Additionally, an independent samples t-test was performed to assess the influence of prior mental health education on the outcomes. The major finding was that participants with prior mental health education had significantly higher self-efficacy scores at post-test compared to those without such education. The study highlights the need for continued emphasis on educational interventions, supplemented with strategies aimed at attitude change, to effectively address mental health issues and prevent suicide.
Keywords
Gatekeeper training, Suicide prevention, College students, Self-efficacy, Attitudes
Disciplines
Social Work
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Morin, Andreea, "Assessing Attitudes and Self-Efficacy in Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training: The Impact of Lived Experience and Prior Mental Health Education Among College Students" (2024). Social Work Theses. 131.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/socialwork_theses/131