Suicide

Question 1

Alternate Positivist interpretations

Answer 1

HAIBWACH - Use knew stats. Rural vs Urban is key difference. in urban more social disorganisation and isolation. Protestants more likely to live in Urban areas.

GIBBS AND MARTIN
Need to operationalise integration
Status integration - job matches education level.

Question 2

INTERPRETIVIST VIEW OF SUICIDE - DOUGLAS

Answer 2

DOUGLAS- Integration effects likelihood of being labelled suicide, if high integration more people to contest label. SNOWCROFT - low in Islam as high stigma, but high in Japan as low stigma.

Individual, not structual causes
Transformation of self
transformation of soul
revenge 
sympathy.

Question 3

INTERPRETIVIST VIEW OF SUICIDE - BAECHLER

Answer 3

Expands on Douglas' point - suicide is a rational choice made to acquire gains.
LUDIC - Excitement
OBLATIVE- Heaven
Aggression
Revenge.

Question 4

INTERPRETIVIST VIEW OF SUICIDE - ATKINSON

Answer 4

Suicide stats do not show the true rate of suicide they are merely socially constructions, need to study how these constructions are made.
Found that coroners have common sense assumptions about the features of a suicide, if the case fits these expectations more likely to be diagnosed as a suicide,
-suicide note
-mode of death
-mental health history
-location and circumstance.

The common sense assumptions vary between, in one country folded clothes by drowing site indicated a suicide, another this had little significance.

BUT
SAINSBURY ET AL - US suicide levels match that of the immigrant origin countries.
Hindness - Self defeating - if no reality and all is an interpretation than no reason to believe Interpretivists.

Question 5

Interpretivists problems with statistics

Answer 5

SILVERMAN - 27 definitions
SNOWCROFT 
-Narrative verdict
-Taboo
-Misinterpretation
-Inconsistency in how define and report.

Question 6

Suicide stats

Answer 6

illegal in the Uk until 1961

% of deaths 2011

Question 7

TAYLOR - REALISM AND SUICIDE.

Answer 7

Can identify the causes of suicide - unobservable causes can be revealed to explain the observable.

32 killed by train, half labelled suicide despite no evidence.

Need new definition that includes attempted suicidees ‘self damage that cannot be sure of survival’

Two keys concepts certainty and attachment

ECTOPIC suicides-
Thanation - unsure about self and whether wish to die
submissive - sure about self and wish to die.

SYMPHYSIC
Sacrifice - sure about others and wish to die
Appeal - unsure about others and whether wish to die.

Question 8

DURKHEIM AND SUICIDE

Answer 8

DURKHEIM - Wanted to prove that sociology is a science, noticed that suicide rates varied between groups and countries but were consistent within these groups suggesting the presence of a pattern.
He argued that there were four types of suicides
EGOTISITIC - Low integration
ATAVISTIC - Too high integration
ANOMIC - Too low regulation
FATALISTIC- too high integration.

Suicide low in war, high during any economic changes.
Protestants higher than Catholics as more individual.

BUT
HAIBWACH - Cannot measure integration
- Impose own meanings.
- Unreliable stats at this point in time.

DURKHEIM- action he himself will produce this effect - need to know intention - cannot ignore for science.