The present study proposes 6 explanatory hypotheses to account for differential patterning of white & nonwhite age-specific suicide rates: 1) different life expectancy; 2) deviant burnout; 3) screening out the violence-prone; 4) role & status of the elderly; 5) traditional values; & 6) age-specific motives. These hypotheses would indicate that they do not operate in the direction of reducing the suicide rates of elderly nonwhites, thereby contributing to the observed discrepancies in rates.