High accident & suicide rates among adolescents are explained in terms of depression resulting from normal adolescent mourning for the parents they are separating from. This mourning is described as having 3 phases & is illustrated using 8 case examples, 2 of which involved threatened or attempted suicide. It is suggested that psychotherapy with adolescents exhibiting mourning or depressive equivalents should focus on feelings of deprivation & loss. (20 refs.) (RM)