Abstract
We describe over 300,000 crisis calls made to a large national hotline over a 5-year period. Callers consisted of males and females between the ages of 10 and 89. Overall, a slight majority of callers were first time callers (52%) and most (73%) sought assistance with issues related to parenting, youth concerns, and mental health. Across the lifespan, issues dealing with loneliness increased with age whereas depression-related calls decreased. Additionally, females were more likely than their male counterparts to call the hotline by over a 2- to 1-margin. Findings lend preliminary support to the efficacy of crisis call centers to utilize a flexible, yet well-defined problem-solving approach to assist those of all ages calling with the wide range of problems.
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Ingram, S., Ringle, J.L., Hallstrom, K. et al. Coping with Crisis Across the Lifespan: The Role of a Telephone Hotline. J Child Fam Stud 17, 663–674 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-007-9180-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-007-9180-z