To see if actor versus observer instructions influenced students' perc
eptions of social support during a suicidal crisis, 80 students comple
ted social support, interpersonal reactivity, and suicidal behaviors q
uestionnaires. In a yoked design, students who had been suicidal were
matched with those who were instructed to imagine themselves being sui
cidal, to imagine that another person was suicidal, or to observe a pe
rson who was suicidal. Those who had been suicidal in the past (n = 20
) were more suicidal than the other 3 groups (ns = 20). The suicidal g
roup perceived high social support (belonging and appraisal), compared
to the others, who perceived moderate support. Overall, nonsuicidal c
ollege students consistently underestimated their suicidal peer's soci
al support, regardless of the instructions they were given.