Most youth who commit suicide do not come to the attention of mental health authorities before their deaths. Therefore, there is a need for data based on the suicidal thinking and risk of nonclinical populations. In this study, 1,098 children and adolescents were tested in regard to suicidal thinking. Subjects read a scenario about a person in an adverse life circumstance and provided three responses concerning what the character was considering doing. Follow-up questions inquired as to whether the subject had ever thought about or engaged in the behavior he/she attributed to the character. Sixty-eight percent of the subjects attributed suicide to the character. Of these 749 subjects, 52% indicated that they had previously thought about suicide and 7% reported having made a suicide attempt. In some cases, the findings support conclusions cited in the literature; however, in other instances the results call into question common assumptions concerning youth at risk. Status characteristics were examined and a phenomenological analysis based on the subjects' verbatim responses was made. Combinations of problems, affective states, and family problems were paramount as the circumstances associated with the subjects' personal suicidal thinking. (Author/NB)