Racial differences in suicidal self-disclosure and reasons for living were investigated in 2 separate studies. In Study 1, a random sample of archival client and therapist intake data from a university counseling center for 1 year was examined, and results indicate that ethnic minority clients do not self-disclose suicidal ideation as readily as their nonethnic minority peers. In addition, a significantly higher number of ethnic minority clients were deemed "hidden ideators" because their suicidal ideation only became evident when a counselor performed a suicide risk assessment. Only 1 of the 36 ethnic minority clients with suicidal ideation in the sample voluntarily self-disclosed this ideation at intake without an assessment by the therapist. Study 2 used the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL) and compared African American and European American college students from an introductory psychology course. The RFL is a useful instrument to compare potential race differences in reasons people report for choosing not to kill themselves, because it does not require respondents to self-disclose (or to have) current suicidal ideation. The results from Study 2 indicate European Americans report fewer reasons for choosing not to kill themselves than their African American peers and that African Americans scored significantly higher than European Americans on the moral objections and survival and coping beliefs subscales of the RFL. Implications for training counselors in suicide risk assessment, prevention, and treatment with ethnic minorities are discussed.

Clinical examination of eye movements, with attention to dynamic properties of saccades and the vestibulo-ocular reflex, takes only a few minutes to perform, but may provide better information concerning the presence of brainstem and cerebellar involvement than Kurtzke protocols. Measurement of SVV is possible in the clinic and is a sensitive sign of brainstem dysfunction; our present study suggests that SVV is also affected when cerebellar circuits are involved in MS. Prospective studies are required to determine whether the development of abnormalities with ocular motor and SVV testing are predictive of disease activity and progressive disability in MS.

We conducted a two-year follow-up study of 40 patients with MS in whom we had reported that abnormal eye movements (AEM) were associated with greater general disability. AEM patients (17/40) remained significantly (p < .001) more disabled (median EDSS of 7.0) than those with normal eye movements (median EDSS of 5.0). AEM and great disability were associated with abnormal MRI signals in brainstem or cerebellum, where disease may involve control circuits for eye movements as well as descending motor pathways.

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