Suicide

Suicide

1. JD Douglas

   • Suicides are socially constructed
   • 4 Categories of suicides
     • Transforming the self - release from strains of world
       • Transforming oneself for others - tell others the feelings on an issue
         • Achieving fellow feelings - asking for help or sympathy
           • Gaining revenge - believe they have ben forced into it

2. Jacobs (1967)

   • Analysed 112 suicide notes (personal documents) to understand meaning of suicude
   • Separated the notes into 6 categories - one being those of were mentally ill
   • Interpretivists - suicide notes are a direct and meaningful form of communication
   • Relatively small sample - may not be representative of suicides in general
     • Some people may not leave notes

3. Atkinson (1971)

   • Durkheim failed to understand that suicide is a category that is socially constructed
     • Says that Durkheim's work is questionable as stats are based on coroners decision
   • Suicide is dependant on coroner's decision - needs to piece together a series of clues ----->
     • Life in history and mental condition - often related to depression caused by key events in life
     • Location/circumstance - suicides are in places that the person will not be found
     • Mode of death - some deaths are more believable than others
     • Suicide note - 30% of cases love suicide notes - some claim that they are destroyed by embarrassed family members

4. Taylor (1990)

   • Durkheim's work is most profound and complete but ignores parasuicides (Attempted suicide)
     • Successful suicides can be related to anomie and gamble suicides more related to fatalism
   • Study - through questioning these people were able to find that the majority are doing it as a gamble than a definite decision