Objective: To assess public attitude, actual working commitment and the res
pective influence of demographic, psychological and sociological variables
on voluntary help in psychiatry. Methods: Multiple logistic regression anal
ysis of the results of a representative population survey in Switzerland. R
esults: Public attitude is mostly positive, but the respective working comm
itment is small. Attitude depends on gender, psychological factors (social
distance, stereotypes), and on attitude to community psychiatry. For the wo
rking commitment, clearly distinct predictors are found: age, emotions, par
ticipation, and perceived discrimination to the mentally ill. For both atti
tude and commitment, having a social profession and interest in mass media
are predictors. Conclusions: Internationally compared, Switzerland has a po
sitive attitude and a big commitment in lay helping in psychiatry. But atti
tude is different from actual commitment. Lay helpers' work must be limited
to realizable tasks and they need professional recruitment, instruction, a
nd supervision otherwise they tend to be overburden. The unused potential o
f voluntary helpers has to be opened specifically, e.g. by involving mass m
edia and opinion-makers.