This study investigates the impact of parental status on the risk of completed suicide in the context of other risk factors, using Danish data. The authors find the presence of children to be a protective factor against suicide in parents in terms of having children, & to a higher degree, having a young child. At the same time, parents of children with a hospitalized psychiatric disorder & parents of children who have died are at an increased risk for suicide, particularly in the first month after losing a child. (27 refs)