The primary purpose of this study was to identify those factors that seem to protect African American women from suicide. Five factors were studied in detail: religious membership/importance; family support; quality of support; perceived importance to others; & child-rearding responsibilities. The focus of study was suicidal ideation rather than attempts & completions. All data was gathered using self-report measures. The most important protective variable for predicting ideation in African Americans was reported quality of support. The most important risk variable was financial stress. Limitations of the methodology & findings are also discussed.