Crime And Deviance - Mental Illness And Suicide Flashcards
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Durkheim say about suicide?
He studied it to show that sociology is a science.
Using official stats he claimed to discover the causes of suicide -> integration into society & regulation of individual behaviour
What do Interactionists say about Durkheim’s approach to suicide?
They reject Durkheim’s positivist approach to suicide
They argue that we must uncover meanings for those who choose to kill themselves
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Douglas say about the meaning of suicide?
He takes an Interactionist approach -> is critical of official stats (socially constructed)
E.g. when death gets labelled as suicide is based on interactions between social actors e.g. doctors & coroner
Relatives may feel guilty for failing to prevent death & press for a verdict of misadventure rather than suicide
Stats tell us nothing about meanings -> need to use qualitative methods e.g. unstructured interviews/analysis of suicide notes
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Atkinson say about coroners & suicide?
He agrees that statistics are merely a record of labels coroners attach to deaths
Focused on assumptions that coroners make when categorising deaths
Certain modes of death (e.g. hanging), location, circumstances & life history (e.g. recent bereavement) were seen as typical of suicides
What do interactionalists say about mental illness?
They reject official stats on mental illness -> regarded as social constructs
They’re a record of psychiatrists with the power to attach labels e.g. schizophrenic to others
Crime, suicide & mental illness stats are made up by humans as opposed to objective social facts
Additionally, What are interactionists interested in regarding mental illness?
How a person comes to be labelled as mentally ill & the effects of the label
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Lemert say about paranoia as a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Some people dont easily dit into groups as a result of this primary deviane -> labelled as ‘odd’ & excluded
The negative response to this is beginning of secondary deviance -> leads to further exclusion & possible psychiatric intervention (label ‘mental patient’ becomes master status)
Example -> Rosenhan’s experiment (being sane in insane places)
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Goffman say about institutionalisation?
Study of asylums shows the effects of being admitted to a ‘total institution’ -> upon admission the inmate goes under ‘mortification of the self’ (old identity killed off & replaced by new one - ‘inmate’)
Some inmates becomes institutionalised whilst others adopt various forms of resistance to their situation
