Steven Stack was an adjunct professor of psychiatry and a full professor of criminal justice at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan when this was written. He is also the director of the Center for Suicide Research, a registered non-profit corporation in Troy, Michigan. Dr. Stack received his PhD degree in Sociology from the University of Connecticut in 1976. He has previously held appointments at Penn State University, Auburn University, Indiana University (Indianapolis), and Alma College. He was chairman of the Criminal Justice Department at Wayne State University from 1994 to 2001. He has served as secretary of the American Association of Suicidology and as president of the Pennsylvania Sociological Society. He is currently on the editorial board of Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior and Archives of Suicide Research. Dr. Stack is the author of over 260 articles and chapters, and most of these are on risk and protective factors for suicide.