Social Policy and Suicide Flashcards
There are 7 reasons why sociologists’ research may or may not impact social policy. What are they?
Electoral popularity Interest groups Critical sociology Funding sources Ideological preferences Globalisation Cost
Give an example of how electoral popularity affected social policy
In 2008, cannabis was changed from a class B drug to class A despite evidence showing it caused little harm to users. This is because of public perception.
Give an example of how critical sociology affected social policy
In 2006, Davies states that the government selected only the research that supported prostitution remaining criminalised. This could be because legalising prostitution is quite a radical feminist solution that would alienate the centrist or conservative government.
Name the 3 sociological perspectives which believe sociology should impact social policy - with an example for each
Feminism - especially liberal as they believe in legislation eg Equal Pay Act 1970
Social Democratic Perspective - believe in sharing the wealth eg EMA
Functionalism and positivism - believe that the purpose of sociology is to improve social problems eg Durkheim’s study of suicide
Name the 2 sociological perspectives which do not believe sociology should impact social policy - with example
Marxism - they believe that only revolution and overhaul of capitalism will help not policy from the ruling class The New Right - They think that the state should have little involvement meaning little social policy - Murray and perverse incentives
Evaluate the 3 perspectives that think sociology should be part of social policy
Feminism - radical feminists believe in more extreme solutions such as separatism which cannot really be achieved as parliament is dominated by men Social democratic perspective - none of these have solved inequality eg the Black Report Functionalism - marxists believe that these social problems cannot be solved while there is conflict and a class divide
Evaluate the 2 perspectives that think sociology shouldn’t be part of social policy
Marxists - they do not have any practical short term solutions to inequality unlike social democrats
New Right - despite saying sociology shouldn’t impact policy they’re strongly linked with the conservatives eg Thatcherism
How do postmodernists criticise every perspective involved with social policy?
They say that there is never certainty in research findings so they cannot be used in generalised policies
Which 3 debates can the study of suicide be used in?
Value free vs value laden
Is sociology a science?
positivism vs interpretivism
Who is the positivist sociologist studying suicide?
Durkheim
What method did Durkheim use to study suicide?
Official statistics from 11 European countries
Comparative method to identify patterns
What were Durkheim’s main findings?
That it is determined by external factors - religion or family (Jews vs Protestants, married vs single)
That there was an objective definition of suicide - “all causes of death resulting directly or indirectly from a view of himself, which he knows will produce this result”
That there are 2 social facts
What were Durkheim’s 2 social facts?
Social integration (either egoistic or altruistic) and Moral Regulation (either anomic or fatalistic)
Give a piece of negative evaluation for Durkheim
The statistics were from the 19th century - highly unreliable
What do interpretivists focus on about suicide?
The meanings of suicide for those involved and how deaths are determined as a suicide
Which interpretivist studied the social meanings of suicide?
Douglas
What did Douglas discover about suicide?
That suicide statistics are socially constructed because they are a result of interactions with different parties. For example family and friends account of the person can influence the coroner.
What qualitative data did Douglas study?
He studied case studies - interviewing those close to the deceased, reading diaries and investigating their physical and mental health
Give 2 pieces of negative evaluation for Douglas
- He implies that the coroner doesn’t know what they’re doing - offensive
- Also Sainsbury et al found that there were racial patterns in suicide like Black people in the Caribbean and and Black caribs in the UK (SOCIAL FACT)
Who highlighted the the social construction of suicide statistics?
Atkinson
What are the 4 common sense factors which affect a coroner’s decision according to Atkinson
A suicide note
Type of death
Location and circumstance
Evidence of illness
What perspective did Atkinson fall into and how did that affect his research?
Atkinson took an ethnomethodological approach as he sought to expose that common sense assumptions are socially constructed.
What was Atkinson’s explanation of how the common sense factors’ repetition in suicide statistics were constructed?
That coroners use clues in the inquest to make an assumption of what suicide looks like and as gatekeepers for official statistics these repeated entries create patterns. Then these patterns are treated as an accurate set of criteria as they are common so are used by coroners.
Give a piece of positive evaluation for Atkinson’s research
+ It proves Durkheim’s view of ‘official statistics’ as objective wrong
