Previous research in suicidology has revealed that Caucasian males in their 80's pose the greatest suicide risk of any segment of the population. Only a few people have begun to investigate the interrelationships of this target population with the particular environments in which they reside. Realizing that the median age of Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) patients is roughly 84, it appears logical that there is a significant suicide risk among Caucasian males residing in this environment. Pertinent questions were asked those people (nurses' aides and orderlies) who are the primary caregivers to this target population about the subtle nuances of geriatric suicidal behaviors. The primary hypothesis is that these caregivers are not attuned to the "subintentional" suicide tendencies their patients could very well be exhibiting (as conventional methods of suicide are unlikely to be exhibited in this environment). The dependent variable is the feeling of helplessness that caregivers might exhibit if they are unable to intervene on behalf of the self-destructive patient because of inadequate knowledge of this suicidological typology. The SNF Staff Suicide Awareness Scale is designed to ask these questions and test these hypotheses. (Author/BMW)