Suicide

Suicide

1. Durkheim

   • Was a positivist
     • The belief that the social sciences (sociology & psychology) are fundamentally the same as natural sciences (physics, chemistry & biology)
     • They need to be objective, reliable and quantitative
   • Considered suicide statistics to be social facts
     • considered the suicide statistics gathered in each country to truly reflect how many had taken their lives
       • Denmark and Germany near the top
         • Italy, Ireland and Belgium further down
   • Protestants commit suicide more than Catholics
   • Unmarried more likely to commit suicide than married
   • people without children more likely than those with children
   • younger people more likely than older people
   • educated people more than uneducated
   • Rural dwellers more than city dwellers
   • Suicide rate not determined by psychological state
     • Determined by their relationship to society
       • Key areas:
         • Integration
           • how connected and involved a person is to society
         • Social Control
           • how much freedom a person feels they have, regulations and controls placed upon them
   • Criticisms of Durkheim
     • he treats the suicide statistics as social facts
       • should be seen as social constructs
         • don't necessarily reflect the truth

2. Types of Suicide (Durkheim):

   • Egoistic:
     • A person that has too little integration
     • most suicides today in western countries
     • this is why Catholics have less suicides than protestants
       • Protestantism is more individualistic
       • Catholicism integrates people more
       • Protestants are more likely to question their faith, leading to uncertainty and then suicide
     • The more roots you have with family, friends, religion etc. the less likely you'll commit suicide
   • Altruistic:
     • When a person has too much integration and sacrifices themselves for the good of the social group
     • Seen more in the past, still relevant in Asian/ Middle eastern countries
     • Relevant in societies where religion or national identity is strong
     • e.g. Sutteeism, where Hindu widows kill themselves at their husbands funeral, throwing themselves on the pyre
     • e.g. Japanese Kamikaze pilots crashing their planes into American Warships in WW2
       • similar to suicide bombers today, integrated by religion
   • Anomic:
     • Where a person has too much freedom and lack of regulation placed on their behaviour
     • Common in the west, less than egoistic though
     • May occur when society is going through rapid social change
     • e.g. Wall Street Crash, many Americans lost all of their savings, some committed suicide
   • Fatalistic:
     • When someone has too little freedom
     • More relevant to the past, particularly slave societies like Greece or Rome
     • Slaves often committed suicide to escape the hopeless and oppressive situation they faced

3. J.D. Douglas

   • Interpretivist
     • sees suicide statistics as social constructs
     • interested in the parties involved after a suicide
       • (Family members, friends and the coroner)
   • Family/Friends may be reluctant to accept the possibility of suicide
     • May try to convince the coroner it was an accident
   • without a note the coroner will be reluctant to reach a verdict
     • More likely to record it as an Open Verdict
   • Suicide rate so low in Catholic countries because of their reluctance to record it
     • Therefore suicide rate is related to Integration
   • to get the truth, qualitative analysis of, the suicide, reading diaries, physical and mental health and those who knew the deceased
     • But only the deceased will know if it was suicide, murder or an accident

4. Types of Suicide (J.D. Douglas):

   • Transformation of the soul suicide:
     • used as a way to get to heaven or the 'next level'
   • Transformation of the self suicide:
     • used to get others to think of you differently
   • Sympathy Suicide:
     • used as a way to make people feel sorry for you
   • Revenge Suicide:
     • used as a form of revenge by making people feel guilty about your death

5. Steve Taylor:

6. J. Bleacher:

   • Agrees with Douglas
   • Argues that suicide is an extreme form of 'Problem Solving'
   • Types of Suicide (J.Bleacher):
     • Escapist Suicide
       • Suicide is seen as an escape from problems such as grief or a terminal illness
     • Aggressive Suicide
       • Suicide is used as a way of punishing someone; they are the same as revenge suicides
     • Transfiguration Suicides:
       • Suicide is used as a way of going to the afterlife or joining a loved one who recently died

7. Maxwell-Atkinson: