What Shapes Practitioners’ Perceived Competency in Responding to Youths at Risk of Suicide? Predictors Across Acute and Chronic Contexts

Background Suicide is one of the world’s leading causes of death among youth, yet little is known about how practitioners develop competence in assessing and intervening across different suicide risk contexts, which most research does not distinguish. This study examined how perceived adequacy of training, workplace support, and professional experience contribute to practitioner self-efficacy and perceived competence in working with youths at risk of suicide, distinguishing between acute and chronic contexts. Methods Participants were 237 youth-serving practitioners with experience intervening with youths at suicide risk. Measures included items to measure perceived training and workplace support adequacy, years of experience, self-efficacy (acute and chronic risk), and perceived competence (acute and chronic risk). The study used robust statistical methods, specifically MLR estimation for direct effects alongside 5,000-sample bias-corrected bootstrapping to test mediation pathways. Results Self-efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between perceived adequacy of workplace support and perceived competence in both contexts, with a stronger mediation observed in the chronic context (β = .13, partial mediation) than in the acute context (β = .05, full mediation). This suggests that supportive environments build competence for acute crisis work primarily through confidence, whereas in chronic cases additional practice variables play a role. Years of intervention experience indirectly predicted competence through self-efficacy in the chronic risk context but not in the acute context, implying that accumulated experience builds confidence and competence for sustained work with youths at chronic risk but does not indirectly enhance perceived crisis management capability. Perceived adequacy of training significantly predicted self-efficacy in the acute risk context, which in turn mediated the effect on competency, suggesting the importance of formal instruction in building both confidence and competency in crisis management and rapid de-escalation with youths at acute risk of suicide. Notably, both of these direct and mediation effects were absent in the chronic context. Conclusions Findings highlight that training, workplace support, experience, and self-efficacy contribute differently to competence depending on suicide risk context. Distinguishing between acute and chronic contexts offers a more precise framework for professional development in youth suicide prevention and intervention.