Lifeline Outcomes Evaluation – Suicide Prevention Resource Center

An evaluation of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) from 2020 to 2021 found that callers in suicidal crisis thought the call helped them and stopped them from attempting suicide. This study offers evidence of the Lifeline’s effectiveness from the caller’s perspective. While data collection took place before the crisis line transitioned to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988 Lifeline) in 2022, these findings may have current relevance.

Study participants were 437 adults who called the Lifeline between April 15, 2020, and August 15, 2021. These callers were randomly selected across 12 Lifeline crisis centers in four geographic regions of the U.S. At the end of each crisis call, callers were asked whether they would like to participate in the study. Callers who agreed were asked to give consent to be contacted by the research team.

An average of 13 days after the crisis calls, researchers held phone interviews with study participants. These interviews asked callers about their demographics, mental health indicators, perceptions of crisis counselor behavior, and call outcomes (i.e., recurrence of suicidal thoughts and perceptions of the call’s effectiveness). Call effectiveness was assessed with the questions, “Overall, how much did the call help you?” and “To what extent did the call stop you from killing yourself?”

The researchers conducted mixed-effect logistic regression analyses (a statistical method used to examine relationships in data while accounting for differences between groups), which demonstrated statistically significant results (p <0.05).

Results showed that individuals at high risk of suicide were reaching out to the Lifeline, which is consistent with past research. The majority of callers in the study (88%) felt that their calls with the Lifeline stopped them from attempting suicide. Nearly all callers (98%) reported that their call was helpful, which is higher than previous studies of other crisis lines have found.

Callers reported their Lifeline counselors had engaged in best practices, and those best practices were associated with positive call outcomes. Approximately 41% of callers reported a recurrence of suicidal thoughts since the crisis call, which is similar to the rate found in a previous study.

Study limitations include a potential selection bias in callers who opted into the study compared to those who opted out. According to the authors, this was the first study to evaluate the Lifeline’s effectiveness from the caller’s perspective using now-standardized metrics. They also suggested that these study results from the Lifeline’s 10-digit phone number from 2020 to 2021 are relevant to the service’s effectiveness since it transitioned to the 988 Lifeline and a three-digit number in 2022, as best practices for crisis counselors have stayed the same.

Spark Extra! Check out recent findings on the 988 Lifeline’s effectiveness.

Gould, M., Lake, A., Port, M., Kleinman, M., Hoyte-Badu, A., Rodriguez, C., Chowdhury, S., Galfalvy, H., & Goldstein, A. (2024). National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline): Evaluation of crisis call outcomes for suicidal callers. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 55(3), 13. https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fsltb.70020

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Year Published/Updated: 2026

Resource Type: Research Summary