This article presents new data on the nature of suicidal crises in college students. Data were collected from over 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students at 70 colleges and universities. An anonymous Web-based survey was designed to provide insight into the full spectrum of suicidal thought, intent, and action among college students. The authors discuss implications of these data and outline a new, problem-focused paradigm for conceptualizing the problem of college student suicidality and for guiding institutional policies and interventions at multiple points along the continuum of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The proposed paradigm encompasses and expands on the current model of treating individuals in crisis in order to act preventively to reduce both prevalence and incidence of all forms of suicidality among college students.

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Differences in the suicidal experiences of males and females and of undergraduate and graduate students have not been thoroughly explored. Furthermore, given the changing dynamics of college student suicidality and the challenges of suicide prevention, it is important to continue updating the research in this area. This article presents findings from a 2006 national survey with responses from over 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students at 70 colleges and universities. Gender and undergraduate versus graduate student differences were found in suicidal thoughts and behaviors, related experiences such as professional and informal help-seeking during a suicidal crisis, events that precipitated and contributed to the suicidal crisis, and factors that protected against attempting suicide. Among the many findings, some are consistent with previous research, some are unexpected, and some have not previously been studied. The results of this survey have implications for targeting specific interventions to better meet the needs of undergraduate and graduate student males and females.Research on suicidal thoughts and behaviors among men and women has illustrated a "gender paradox of suicidal behavior" (Canetto & Sakinofsky,

This study aimed to explore the relationship between college students' sense of coherence and connectedness and their development of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Using archival data from a larger survey with responses from 26,742 undergraduate and graduate students at 74 colleges and universities, we applied Exploratory Factor Analysis to derive these protective factors (coherence and connectedness) as well as hypothesized distal and proximal risk factors (pre-existing vulnerabilities and distress). Structural Equation Modeling was used to explore latent variable interactions among these factors with regards to outcomes on a continuum of suicidal thinking and behavior. Sense of coherence mitigated the impact of pre-existing vulnerabilities on movement along the continuum, while connectedness mitigated the impact of distress. Findings suggest that including both connectedness and coherence in suicide prevention frameworks will increase the impact of suicide prevention programming.

The focus of this two-part study was on distinguishing maladaptive expressions of anger (hostility) from adaptive forms (direct anger). Observational codes assessing the dimensions of hostility and direct anger were developed and applied to a videotaped task in which women discussed a conflictual topic with their romantic partners. Scales showed acceptable interrater reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. In a preliminary test of the predictive validity of these scales, their distinct roles in predicting psychological outcome were supported: Direct anger was negatively related and hostility was positively related to subsequent depressive symptoms in 23 formerly depressed women across a 6 -18 month follow-up period. Results support the importance of further theoretical and empirical work to delineate adaptive and maladaptive expressions of anger.