98 persons who had attempted suicide were compared with 102 matched controls for the incidence of parental loss and family stability before the age of 25 years. Parental loss was significantly more common in the attempted suicides than in the controls, especially death of the father & divorce/separation of parents, reaching peaks during the age periods of 0-5 & 17-20 years. Women within this group had experienced significantly more loss from parental death than did the men.(SIEC)