Clinical information on suicide attempts & depressive symptoms were obtained from a sample of 211 psychoactive substance dependent subjects attending a university clinic program for addicts in Brazil. 49 individuals had attempted suicide at least once & frequency of reporting attempts was 4.32 times greater among women than among men. Male addicts also tended to engage in potentially more dangerous methods than women. Depressive male addicts were 2.17 times more likely to have attempted suicide than addicted men who were not depressed. Among women, no association could be established between attempting suicide & the presence of depression. (12 refs.)