Social Policy and Suicide

Question 1

There are 7 reasons why sociologists’ research may or may not impact social policy. What are they?

Answer 1

Electoral popularity
Interest groups
Critical sociology
Funding sources
Ideological preferences
Globalisation
Cost

Question 2

Give an example of how electoral popularity affected social policy

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Give an example of how critical sociology affected social policy

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Name the 3 sociological perspectives which believe sociology should impact social policy - with an example for each

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Name the 2 sociological perspectives which do not believe sociology should impact social policy - with example

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Evaluate the 3 perspectives that think sociology should be part of social policy

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Evaluate the 2 perspectives that think sociology shouldn’t be part of social policy

Answer 7

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

Question 8

How do postmodernists criticise every perspective involved with social policy?

Answer 8

They say that there is never certainty in research findings so they cannot be used in generalised policies

Question 9

Which 3 debates can the study of suicide be used in?

Answer 9

Value free vs value laden
Is sociology a science?
positivism vs interpretivism

Question 10

Who is the positivist sociologist studying suicide?

Answer 10

Durkheim

Question 11

What method did Durkheim use to study suicide?

Answer 11

Official statistics from 11 European countries

Comparative method to identify patterns

Question 12

What were Durkheim’s main findings?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What were Durkheim’s 2 social facts?

Answer 13

Social integration (either egoistic or altruistic) and Moral Regulation (either anomic or fatalistic)

Question 14

Give a piece of negative evaluation for Durkheim

Answer 14

The statistics were from the 19th century - highly unreliable

Question 15

What do interpretivists focus on about suicide?

Answer 15

The meanings of suicide for those involved and how deaths are determined as a suicide

Question 16

Which interpretivist studied the social meanings of suicide?

Answer 16

Douglas

Question 17

What did Douglas discover about suicide?

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

What qualitative data did Douglas study?

Answer 18

He studied case studies - interviewing those close to the deceased, reading diaries and investigating their physical and mental health

Question 19

Give 2 pieces of negative evaluation for Douglas

Answer 19

• 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)

Question 20

Who highlighted the the social construction of suicide statistics?

Answer 20

Atkinson

Question 21

What are the 4 common sense factors which affect a coroner’s decision according to Atkinson

Answer 21

A suicide note
Type of death
Location and circumstance
Evidence of illness

Question 22

What perspective did Atkinson fall into and how did that affect his research?

Answer 22

Atkinson took an ethnomethodological approach as he sought to expose that common sense assumptions are socially constructed.

Question 23

What was Atkinson’s explanation of how the common sense factors’ repetition in suicide statistics were constructed?

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Give a piece of positive evaluation for Atkinson’s research

Answer 24

+ It proves Durkheim’s view of ‘official statistics’ as objective wrong