The Sociology Of Suicide Flashcards
Why did Durkheim study suicide?
To prove sociology could be scientific
- if he could prove there were social reasons for committing suicide he could prove society acts on individuals behaviour
How did Durkheim study suicide?
- Studied suicide statistics from different European countries over a period of time
- Compared the statistics using the comparative method
= noticed big differences between the countries and within the countries
What did Durkheim find?
- Suicide rates are constant within a particular society
- There are wide variations between societies
- There are differences in suicide rates between groups within a society
What were some of the characterises of those with higher rates of suicide and lower rates?
Higher: - Protestants - Unmarried - No children Lower: - Catholics - Married - Children
What did Durkheim conclude were the two social forces affecting suicide rates?
- Social integration
- Moral regulation
What were Durkheim’s 4 types of suicide?
1) Egoistic: due to a LACK of INTEGRATION
2) Altruistic: due to TOO MUCH INTEGRATION
3) Fatalistic: due to TOO MUCH REGULATION
4) Anomic: due to a LACK of REGULATION§
What is Halbwachs internal critique of Durkheim?
Felt he had overestimated the importance of religion
- argued the differences between living in urban and rural areas had more impact
What is Gibbs and Martin’s internal critique of Durkheim?
Believed Durkheim had failed to follow entirely Positivistic methods:
- had failed to define the concept of social integration adequately = impossible to operationalise
What is Gibbs and Martin’s concept of status integration?
Concerns the extent to which individuals occupy sets of social roles that are commonly found together
e.g. people with high status integration have a job, family and other statuses that are commonly found together
What is Douglas’ first main external criticism of Durkheim?
His use of official statistics
- does not believe these are valid = decision over whether a death is a suicide is made by a coroner
- the decision of the coroner is influenced by others e.g. family and friends
= the degree of integration simply affects the chances of sudden death being recorded as suicide
What is Douglas’ second main external criticism of Durkheim?
Argued suicide has different meanings to those who take their own lives and their motives may vary too = not all the same
What are Douglas’ 4 social meanings of suicide?
1) Escape - gaining release from the cares of the world
2) Repentance - tells others how profound one’s feelings are on a particular issue
3) Help - person is asking for help or sympathy = suicide attempts
4) Revenge - believes they have been forced into a position where they have to commit suicide
How does Douglas’ suggest suicides should be studied?
Using case studies
What is a criticism of Douglas’ approach?
Lacks objectivity - it is his interpretation of suicide
How does Baechler classify suicides according to meanings?
Argues suicidal behaviour is a way of responding to/trying to solve a problem, classifies it by:
- the type of solution it offers
- the type of situation it is a response to
