This study assumes that all suicidal and self-destructive behavior can be placed on a continuum from hopeful (H) to hopeless (S). The author attempts to show that there is an underlying continuum of hope corresponding to what we know about the statistics of suicidal behavior. He employs two operational hypotheses as tests of his ideas: (1) a group of college students who admit to significant amounts of suicidal thought will also be significantly higher in degree of hopelessness than will a comparison group of college students who do not claim to have much self-destructive thought; and (2) among a sample of formerly hospitalized patients, a higher degree of hopelessness will be found among serious attempters than among those who have only made suicidal gestures or threats. (VG)