Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young adult college students aged 18 - 24, and rates of nonfatal suicidal behavior in this age group are the highest levels reported for any age group. Addressing the high rate of suicidal behavior in the young adult college population is critical, as such behavior carries with it a lifelong increased risk for suicide morbidity and mortality. The prevention of suicide is best accomplished by the identification of empirically supported risk and protective factors and the development of targeted interventions. Recent studies have identified that traumatic grief, a psychiatric syndrome that develops in the context of bereavement by the death of a significant other, is a risk factor for suicidal ideation, a strong predictor of future suicide morbidity and mortality. The proposed study aims are to investigate: (a) the relationships between bereavement, traumatic grief, and suicidal ideation; (b) whether traumatic grief mediates the relationship between bereavement and suicidal ideation; and (c) the identity of predisposing risk and protective factors for traumatic grief and suicidal ideation in comparison and control groups of young adult African American and White college students. ? ?
