PREVIOUS STUDIES INDICATING THAT JUVENILE SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, ESPECIALLY AMONG FEMALES, ARE RELATED TO THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF RURAL AND DEVELOPING AREAS AND WITH VARIATIONS OF THE ECOSYSTEM AND CULTURAL AND SOCIAL LAG, WERE USED AS A BACKDROP TO THIS RESEARCH ON NAPLES; JUVENILE SUICIDE ATTEMPTS RATES. DATA WERE GATHERED FOR THE YEAR 1974 FROM FIRST AID STATIONS IN HOSPITALS; DISTRIBUTION DATA BY AGE GROUPS, CITY DISTRICTS, AND SOCIAL CLASSES ARE APPROXIMATE. WHEN ANALYZED, THESE DATA REVEAL A 1:8 MALE-FEMALE RATIO FOR JUVENILE SUICIDE ATTEMPTS COMPARED TO A 1:3 RATIO FOR ADULT ATTEMPTS, INCLUDING AN OVERALL HIGHER SUICIDE ATTEMPT RATE FOR JUVENILES. THE ATTEMPTED SUICIDE RATE FOR ALL AGES WAS 80.54 PER 100,000 COMPARED TO 49.5 PER 100,000 IN MILAN ACCORDING TO 1970 FIGURES. THIS STRESSES THE HIGH PERCENTAGE OF SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, PARTICULARLY AMONG FEMALE JUVENILES, OCCURRING IN THIS CITY. THE MOST COMMON SUICIDE METHOD IS DRUG OVERDOSE, AND PRECIPITATING FACTORS APPEAR TO BE FAMILY CONFLICT ASSOCIATED WITH ADJUSTMENT DIFFICULTY IN LIGHT OF WOMEN'S CHANGING SOCIETAL ROLE. ALSO SIGNIFICANT ARE THE POPULATION DENSITY IN CITY AREAS, DETERIORATION OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT, AND THE STATUS OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND HYGIENIC FACILITIES. GRAPHICAL DATA AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (DAG)