Crime and Deviance: Suicide

Suicide

Durkheim: All of Durkheim's research was based on secondary data. He collected official statistics on suicide from countries across Europe. Using the comparative method of experiments he tried to find patterns and trends between the statistics in order to find a cause and effect relationship so that he could make a generalised claim about suicide. This process is known as induction. 

Trends:

• Each country has a different suicide rate. But in each country the rate remains stable. However, it can fluctuate due to things such as economic recession and war. 
• Catholics had a much lower suicide rate in comparison with Protestants. 
• Those living in rural areas were less likely to commit suicide in comparison with those living in urban areas. 
• Those who have a family were less likely to commit suicide in comparison to those who live alone. 

He claimed that suicide depends on two social facts:

1. Moral Regulation - Values and beliefs. 
2. Social Integration - Sense of belonging to society. 

He argued that too much or too little of thses could result in suicide. He argued that there were four types of suicide:

1. Fatalistic - Caused by too much moral regulation.
2. Altruistic - Caused by too much social integration. 
3. Anomic - Caused by too little moral regulation. 
4. Egoistic - Caused by too little social integration. 

Maurice Halbwach: Argues that social integration is the most important social factor and urban areas that lack social integration, meaning that people are mostly individual in these areas and therefore resulting in increased suicide rates. 

Gibbs and Martin: Operationalised Durkheim's study of social integration and relationships between people and how these effected suicide rates. They argue that social integration is most important as people who have social integration don't commit suicide. 

Douglas: Critiques Durkheim's use of statistics and the role of the coroner as secondary data is unreliable. He argues that there are varied meanings of suicide within different societies. 

Jacobs: Read suicide notes from an Interpretivist perspective. He argues that the victim's point of view and reasoning behind suicide is ignored, there is usually a rational explanation. By doing this research he achieved verstehen. 

Atkinson: Argues that the coroner uses evidence and common sense knowledge to make an assumption on the deceased. Results were therefore inaccurate as the coroner's results can never be 100% certain. He argues that research should only be carried out in a qualitative way. 

Steve Taylor: Argues that Durkheim assumed all suicides were intended to be successful which may not be the case. He states his own four types of suicide:

1. Sacrifice - The individual has done something wrong and therefore commits suicide to protect themselves or others from finding out about their misdemeanour. (Wants to succeed).
2. Submissive - The individual has given up on life and feels that there is no other alternative to death. (Wants to succeed).
3. Thanatation - The individual is unsure as to whether or not they want to die and therefore leave their suicide attempt for fate to decide. (Not certain).
4. Appeal - The individual attempts to commit suicide as a plea for help. (Not certain).