Recent efforts to quantify various aspects of suicide ideation are described. The Suicide Intent Scale, Hopelessness Scale and the Scale for Suicide Ideation all assess components of the individual’s suicidal ruminations. Hopelessness seems to account for the bulk of the relationship between depression & suicidal intent. The Scale for Suicide Ideation seems to show promise as a predictive instrument as a dependent variable in research on treatment efficacy & as a tool for clinical assessment.