75 university students with a history of parental loss before the age of 16 yrs were compared to a control group of 61 subjects from intact homes for the presence of suicidal ideation & overt suicidal behavior. Parental-loss subjects demonstrated significantly more suicidal ideation & had made more attempts. Findings support the hypothesis that early parental loss, under certain conditions, is a significant variable in the predisposition to suicidal behavior.