The Study of Suicide: More Sociological Than Psychological

Emile Durkheim's sociological concerns focused primarily on how society maintains its social order and, encompassed within this, he spent the majority of his studies analyzing suicide and its impact on societal structure. Durkheim criticized the classical interpretation of suicide as a psychological fault and, instead, turned to sociology to explain why someone would choose to take their own life. He argued that the reasons behind suicide could be derived from social factors and societal context as opposed to individual, internal conflict. By analyzing the degree to which people feel integrated into their society and the environmental surroundings in which they live, Durkheim was able to develop three distinct types of suicide: anomic, altruistic, and egoistic. Anomic suicide occurs when the forces of society cause individuals to feel lost or alone. This is a common cause of teenage depression and suicide. Altruistic suicide happens when there is excessive regulation on an individual by society This often includes deaths brought about as a result of political or religious reasons. Finally, egoistic suicide occurs when people feel like they can no longer relate, connect, or contribute to society. This is common in elderly individuals who are retired, living relatively quiet, sheltered lives and no longer feel like they are a benefit to society. I chose to research this topic, found in chapter seven of our textbook, because it relates, somewhat, to trials and conflicts that people my age experience. Frequently people assume that suicides are a result of deep psychological issues but it is likely that there are sociological causes behind it as well.

("Durkheim suicide -," 2010)

The following video, entitled "Summary of Sociological Approaches to the Study of Suicide", discusses Durkheim's, along with other sociologists, unorthodox approach to analyzing the reasons behind suicide.

("Scly4 summary of," 2009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPWakWYtpsg&feature=player_detailpage


The following journal article, entitled "The Sociology of Suicide", provides a useful analysis of Durkheim's classic beliefs regarding the sociological reasons behind suicide. In addition, it looks into how the views on the link between sociology and suicide have changed throughout the decades.

(Matt, Cynthia & Bernice, 2011)
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-soc-081309-150058

An additional journal article, entitled "Suicide as Social Control", discusses suicide as an individual's means of exerting control or defiance over society and explores the four social conditions that Durkheim believed might be more likely to lead to one's self-destruction including very low social integration, very high social integration, very low moral regulation, and very high moral regulation.

(Manning, 2012)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1573-7861.2011.01308.x/full

The links embedded below explore the sociological reasons behind suicide, analyzing the differences in  casualty rates between genders, races, countries, and time periods. The most significant difference seems to lie in the variance between males and females and blacks and whites.

(Kearl, 2005)
http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/death-su.html

("Suicide and emil," 2006)
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52460


A recent news article, entitled "One in Twelve Teens Have Attempted Suicide", reveals the unfortunate results of a recent study claiming that the suicide rates in young teens has jumped to 7.8% in the past year. The study found that more females than males participated in self destructive behavior, much of it due to increasing societal pressures including bullying, parental expectations, etc.

(Neal, 2012)
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-06-09/news/32145173_1_teen-suicides-suicide-rate-text-messages


The following excerpt was taken from a discussion regarding Durkheim's sociological analysis of suicide

(Simpson, n.d.)
"Durkheim’s main argument was that suicide is not an individual act, as was previously thought by leading scientists of his time.  Accordingly, his theory was that suicide was a social fact that was tied to social structures.  He defined suicide as a social fact because it was something that happened driven by social causes, however hidden they were.

Durkheim then proceeded to theorize three different types of suicide that are found in all societies.  These include:

            1)      “Egoistic suicide, which results from lack of integration of the individual into society.” 

~This means that a person is not included in many things that happen in society, they feel unattached, helpless and useless.  Due to these feelings of inadequacy, the person takes his of her own life

2)      Altruistic suicide “. . . it results from the individual’s taking his own life because of higher commandments.” 

~This means that the individual feels that something larger than himself is causing him to take his own life, such as religious Martyrs or suicide bombers.

3)      Anomic suicide “. . . which results from lack of regulation of the individual by society.” 

~This means that the society is going through some sort of change, where the rules of the society are not as clear as they were.  The individual feels confused and does not know how to handle the major changes occuring around him/herself, and thus commits suicide."