Have the Samaritans lowered the suicide rate? A controlled study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology
• Psychology

Background:

• The Samaritans is a volunteer organization providing emotional support to people in distress.
• Previous studies have suggested a potential impact of Samaritan branches on suicide rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of Samaritan branches in reducing local suicide rates.
• To compare suicide statistics in areas with and without a Samaritan presence.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of suicide rates between matched towns with Samaritan branches and control towns without branches.
• Utilized four novel methods for selecting control towns, improving upon prior research methodologies.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences in suicide rates were observed between towns with Samaritan branches and matched control towns.
• The data did not support a reduction in suicide rates attributable to the presence of Samaritan services.

Conclusions:

• The study's findings seriously weaken the scientific case for the effectiveness of the Samaritans in suicide rate reduction.
• Further research may be needed to explore alternative or complementary suicide prevention strategies.