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The sociological study of suicide Key studies • Durkheim (1897) • Douglas (1967) • Atkinson (1971) • Taylor (1982) Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • Seen as an important positivist study. In what sense? • Used an objective research method, eg official suicide statistics • Attempted to isolate the variables contributing towards suicide • Attempted to identify law like relationships (ie wide ranging and reliable generalisations which can be used to predict and explain social phenomena). Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • Durkheim studied official suicide statistics from 1840 to 1870, taken from a range of European societies, looking at suicide rates: • Over time in the same society, • In different societies • Between different sub groups in the same society. • He used a comparative method. Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • He noted 3 things • 1)Within single societies the suicide rate remains constant over time • 2)There are significant differences in the suicide rate between societies • 3) Within the same society there are significant differences between different social groups. Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • Argued that if suicide were merely a personal act you would expect to find less consistency so the causes must lie in society. • From his analysis of official stats he concluded: • That too much or too little social integration can cause suicide and too much or too little moral regulation can cause suicide. • Social stability depended on social integration and moral regulation being balanced, with neither too much nor too little of either What did Durkheim mean by social integration and moral regulation? • Social integration – • The degree to which a person feel a sense of belonging to society and integrated into a social group • Moral regulation • The way societies control their members beliefs Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • His main findings were: • In urban areas suicide rates were high but in rural areas they were low. • Why? • People with no family or children were more likely to commit suicide than people with children and relatives – so family status had an impact. • Why? Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • Marital status has an impact on suicide - Married people were less likely to commit suicide than single people • Why? • Religion has an impact on suicide - Protestants were more likely to commit suicide than Catholics • Why? Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • Identified 4 types of suicide • Egoistic suicide • Altruistic suicide • Anomic suicide • Fatalistic suicide Emile Durkheim’s (1897) study – key points • Durkheim believed that he had established a law of human behaviour: that the suicide rate always rose during periods where there was too little or too much social integration or moral regulation Criticisms of Durkheim • Many sociologists have questioned the reliability of official suicide statistics collected between 1840 and 1870 arguing there was no systematic medical examination of the dead in many parts of Europe until the late 19th century • Halbwachs (1930) argues Durkheim is very vague in terms of his definitions of social integration, anomie and excessive individualism, making them difficult to measure Criticisms of Durkheim • Durkheim also makes assumptions about what being a Catholic or Protestant means to the individual. • Interactionists argue that official suicide statistics lack validity and reliability. They are simply social constructions. • Interactionists argue there is no point in trying to discover the causes of suicide when no one can be sure whether a death is a suicide or not since the only definitive witness is dead. Criticisms of Durkheim • Interactionists reject the use of official stats arguing that the sociologist studying suicide should use qualitative methods and sources of data, like studying diaries and suicide notes, and interviews with coroners, relatives, and attempted suicides • Scowcroft (2013)official stats underestimate the true numbers and rate of suicide. Coroners in certain societies such as Catholic societies may decide on a verdict of accidental death to spare relatives the social stigma attached to suicide. Douglas (1967) – nd 2 key study • The interactionist Douglas (1967) is very critical of Durkheim’s approach. He believes that Durkheim’s work is flawed and argues that whether a sudden death is classified as a suicide or not depends on the very things Durkheim claimed caused suicide and these vary between countries and between social groups within the same society. • Douglas argues that the more integrated a community the more likely it is that they will try and cover up a suicide Douglas (1967) – nd 2 key study • Douglas also looks at the social meaning attached to suicide arguing that this can affect the suicide statistics. • What does this mean? • How different societies perceive the act of suicide, eg what it means to them. Some societies see the act as more positive than others and thus will be more ready to classify a death as suicide than others, eg in Japan suicide seen as honourable, but in Catholic societies a sin. • This highlights problems of validity and reliability with the suicide stats Atkinson (1971) – rd 3 key study • Atkinson (1971) again is critical of Durkheim’s use of official statistics, arguing that whether or not a death gets categorised as a suicide is simply a product of the interpretations of others, and that it is impossible to know the real number of suicides. • Atkinson specifically focuses on the role of coroners. • Atkinson adopted a qualitative approach, looking at decision making, he interviewed coroners and staff and also observed at inquests Atkinson (1971) • Atkinson argued that when investigating a suspicious death coroners have five possible verdicts in the UK. These are death by natural causes, death by misadventure, homicide or suicide or the’ open verdict’ • Atkinson argued that the problem that coroners have is that they cannot ask the person who has died whether they meant to kill themselves, so they can only guess at the truth by looking for ‘clues’ in the circumstances surrounding the death. Atkinson (1971) • They look at primary and secondary clues. • Primary clues include whether there was a suicide note, mode of death and location of death • Secondary clues include information coroners get about the deceased state of mind and life history, often obtained from relatives who may attempt to influence the coroners verdict • Atkinson argued that like the rest of us coroners have common sense assumptions about the causes of suicide, and if the information about the deceased fits their theory they are likely to categorise his or her death as a suicide. Atkinson (1971) • Consequently suicide statistics may not be a reflection of real rates of suicide but simply a reflection of coroners common sense presumptions about the nature of suicide victims. In this sense they lack validity. Taylor (1982) – Deaths on the London underground • Taylor (1982), based on interviews with coroners and their officers and observation of inquests, found that coroners see breakdowns in personal relationships, unemployment, history of both mental and physical illness, and coming from a broken home as important aspects of unhappiness and as such are more likely to issue a suicide verdict if the deceased fits their picture. Taylor (1982) • Taylor investigated 32 deaths under London underground trains in 1982, where the mode and scene of death were identical and no suicide notes were left. Only 17 of these were eventually labelled as suicide. • When he observed at inquests, Taylor concluded that suicide verdicts were not returned on the other 15 because relatives influenced the coroner’s interpretation of the state of mind and life history of the deceased prior to the death.