Patients' rights legislation makes the determination of possible danger to self and others extremely important for patients about to be discharged from mental institutions, especially patients who were admitted because of suicidal behavior. Because evaluation methods which rely on patient self-reports may be manipulated by clever patients, a new word association technique was developed for use in the determination of suicide risk. The list of stimuli may include words which express feelings; relate to aspects, areas, or stages of life; or are indicative of significant interpersonal relations. While stimuli lists are formed with some freedom, three words are usually included in all explorations of suicide: future, hope, and death. Subjects are instructed to react with three different ideas or thoughts to each stimulus. Hospital inpatients (N=34) who had attempted suicide or had presented serious suicide ruminations or threats were administered the word association test. Tests were scored blindly by two judges. Scores were then compared to a categorization of the patients as suicidal or non-suicidal made by psychiatrists with full access to each patient. The test correctly identified 82% of the suicidal and 94% of the non-suicidal subjects. A 5-month follow-up provided additional support for the test. Test results may provide information about a patient's risk and the motivations that led to self-destructive behavior. (References and three samples of the technique are appended.) (Author/NB)