Assessing competence in the initial three minute segment of crisis intervention telephone calls: An exploratory study

Jo Ann Flynn, Purdue University

Abstract

This study represents beginning efforts to develop a measure of a global construct of crisis intervention competence, to assess the relationship of communication competence to crisis intervention competence, and to explore the relationships among crisis intervention competence, communication competence, and other dimensions of helper competence including clinical effectiveness, facilitative warmth, facilitative genuineness, and empathic understanding. Because of practical limitations, the study focused on the initial three minutes of conversation in crisis phone calls. Data consisted of judgments of helper competence across 11 measures including crisis intervention competence, communication competence, social relaxation, affiliation/support, behavioral flexibility, empathy, interaction management, clinical effectiveness, facilitative warmth, facilitative genuineness, and empathic understanding. Sixteen male and female judges rated male and female helpers on behaviors exhibited in the initial three minutes of 24 crisis phone calls at three levels of crisis intensity--high, medium, and low. Judges were also divided as to their status as a crisis intervention trainer or non-trainer. Twenty-four hypotheses predicting strong positive relationships among the eleven measures of helper competence were supported. Factor analysis, PIAS, and regression analyses revealed that, at least in the initial three minutes of the crisis phone call, communication competence and clinical effectiveness can be accepted as primary dimensions of crisis intervention competence. Further research must be conducted to determine additional components of crisis intervention competence and to determine if, and when, results hold for the duration of the call. As predicted, in the initial three minutes of the call, women were perceived as more competent helpers than were men. Women were perceived as more critical raters on three of eleven measures--clinical effectiveness, facilitative warmth, and crisis intervention competence. Trainers were found to be more critical than non-trainers on measures of interaction management, facilitative genuineness, and crisis intervention competence. Perceptions of helper competence were found to vary as a function of levels of call intensity on all eleven measures. Again, more research as to the nature of these differences is warranted, particularly research that explores these differences in more lengthy calls and over the full duration of the call.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Webb, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Communication

COinS