Do Positive Gatekeeper Training Outcomes Predict Gatekeeper Intervention Behaviours?

Objective: Evidence for Gatekeeper Training (GKT) has shown that training outcomes are generally maintained at follow-up. Research on how improvements in GKT outcomes translate to intervention behavior is inconclusive, and some studies show that despite significant positive effects on GKT outcomes, there is no effect on GK behaviors.

Method: A non-experimental pre-post and follow-up survey design was used with a sample of 60 participants who voluntarily completed one of 12 half-day (4-hour) GKT sessions. Path Analysis was applied to pre- and post-intervention training outcomes, and a third model assessed the behavioral effect of the change in participant scores from pre- to post.

Results: Suicide prevention knowledge retained by participants at 6-months after GKT was predictive of increased GK behavior in the 6-months following GKT. Knowledge at follow-up was the only significant predictor of behavior (p < .05), no other regression pathways were significant.

Conclusions: Gatekeeper preparedness, efficacy, and reluctance outcomes were not predictive of GK behavior. The findings of this study represent a lack of understanding regarding how the specific aims of GKT are translated into intervention behavior to identify, intervene, support, and refer potentially at-risk individuals.