This article contains an interview with Dr. Jan Fawcett, who studied inpatients suffering from unipolar & bipolar depression. A total of 32 of 954 subjects committed suicide. The study found that a number of traditional short-term predictors were missing in the suicide victims – like prior suicidal behavior. They also found that a short-term variable common to the suicide victims was that they did not have a child under 18 in the home. Other factors were anxiety & alcohol abuse. (VM)