the sociology of suicide

deviance issues

POSITIVISTIC VIEW‘structural sociology’

Sociology as a science

• Social structure

• Social forces

• Deterministic

• Observable facts

• Quantifiable

• Objectivity

• Cause and effect

• Correlations

• Laws of behaviour

Emile Durkheim

‘man is constrained by social facts’

‘treat social facts

as things’

Durkheim and Suicide

• This study could prove the scientific nature of sociology

• Comparative analysis published in 1897

• Certain groups are more prone to suicide (constrained by deterministic social forces)

• Suicide rates are constant over time

Durkheim’s theory of suicide

There are 4 types of suicide:

• FATALISTIC

• ANOMIC

• ALTRUISTIC

• EGOISTIC

Suicide is caused by..

• Moral Regulation

The level of morality and obligation in society

• Social Integration

The degree to which a person is part of a community in society

IT’ALL ABOUT…

Values

Community

Deterministic Social Forces

Moral Regulation & Social Integration

Moral Regulation Social Integration

High Moral regulation

High Social Integration

Low Social Integration

Low Moral regulation

fatalistic

Altruistic

Anomic

Egoistic

Suicide trends

Low Suicide Rate• Catholics –

strong regulation/identity

• Married• Periods of

social stability

High Suicide rate• Protestants –

more individual – less control

• Anomie – times of crisis/upheaval/rapid social change

• Altruistic – where strong bonds/duty

Further studies to support Durkheim

• Sainsbury – 1960s – London – suicides high for ‘individualist careers’ – responsibility/pressure

• Stengel – social factors behind suicide – widowed, single, economic crisis, high standard of living

• Graylingwell Report – Europe 1963-74 – impact of female education and changing gender roles

• Ian Goodyer – Psychiatrist – male suicides increase due to changing roles – depression – uncertainty – isolation – men unable to express emotions (gender role)

• Henry & Short – Aggression – frustration – high status (feel failures) whilst poor ‘fight’

INTERPRETIVISTIC VIEW‘Social Action Sociology’

Interpretivist concerns

• Social interaction

• The social construction of reality

• Human consciousness and the negotiation of social reality – freedom of choice

• Statistics are only subjective measures of ‘gatekeeper’ judgements

• Meanings define the nature of an act

J Douglas – The Meanings of Suicide

• All acts of self-inflicted death are NOT the same thing

• Context of death is important to know

• Suicide categories: Transformation of the soul Transformation of the self A means to achieve fellow feeling Revenge

J Baechler

• A modern version of Douglas

• Suicide as a form of problem-solving

• 4 types of suicide:EscapistAggressiveOblativeLudic

J Maxwell Atkinson• Studied the work of coroners• Suicide is not an objective reality• Common sense theory of suicide used

by coroners• Factors influencing coroner’s

decisions: Suicide note/threats Mode of death Location of death Biography of deceased

• Coroners apply stereotypes/categories (selective policing)

Other interpretivistic studies

Hendricks & Epstein

• Distinguishing between poisoning and suicides is difficult

Harvey Sacks

• Studied transcripts of ‘samaritans’ calls

• Noted how staff construct reality from the conversations

Moving beyond Positivism vs Interpretivism

The work of Dr Steve

Taylor

‘Persons Under Trains’

(1989)

‘Persons Under Trains’ (1989)

• Questions usefulness of suicide statistics

• Studied a 12 month period – 32 cases of uncertainty – no strong suicide clues but 17 were defined as suicide

Factors shaping coroner’s decisions

• History of mental illness

• Social failure

• Social disgrace

• Person at a station for ‘no good reason’

• Witness comments from family/friends

The interpretivistic dimension

Taylor’s model of suicide

Suicide is driven by 4 factors

Inner directed motives

Other directed motives

Certainty in life

Uncertainty in life

Types of suicide (ctd)

ECTOPIC SUICIDES

• Submissive• Thanation

SYMPHISIC SUICIDES

• Sacrifice• Appeal

INNER – DIRECTED SUICIDES(ECTOPIC)

Driven by feelings within a person.

These people are psychologically detached

from others.

Private suicide.

SUBMISSIVE SUICIDES

• Person is CERTAIN about themselves

• They want to die as not happy with who they are

• They think they have no future – they give in to fate

THANATATION SUICIDES

• Person is UNCERTAIN about themselves

• Not sure what people think of them – full of doubt

• Suicide = risk taking (they could survive!)

• Chance will decide their fate

OTHER-DIRECTED SUICIDES(SYMPHISIC)

• Where they have an overwhelming attachment to others

• Not self-contained suicide

• They are a way of communicating with others

SACRIFICE SUICIDES

• They are CERTAIN about other people and know they have to kill themselves

• Usually something has happened that makes it impossible for them to go on living, ie) an affair.

• They may wish to BLAME others for their death.

Evaluation of Taylor• He is interpreting meanings and this may be

incorrect/subjective

• Also individuals may have a combination of motives

• Small sample = not very representative

• Unlike Durkheim he hasn’t connected the types of suicide to social structures (although similar links can be noted)

APPEAL SUICIDES

• The person is UNCERTAIN about others

• They have doubts about their importance to someone else

• The suicide is a way of communicating to change someone else’s behaviour

• Risk taking suicide (they could survive)

• Acts of despair and of hope

Application to Deviance

• Theory and methods

• Theoretical Deviance Issues

Key themes

Deviance issues

• Think about the Positivist (structural) vs Interpretivism (social action) debate in sociology

• Think how explanations of deviance fit into this divide

Functionalist ‘angle’

• Consensus

• Structural – social forces shaping people

• Importance of values

• Faith in official statistics and their collection (objective data)

• Correlations – cause and effect

• Identify ‘typical’ conditions for deviance

The Marxist dilemma

• They are structural

• They are positivist

BUT…..

• They are conflict

• They consider individual consciousness

The Marxist ‘angle’

• Conflict view – dubious of agencies of control

• Lack of faith is statistics and collection – biased in definitions of deviance (ideological agenda)

• Selective policing

• Invisible deviance – powerful are shielded

Linking Functionalism on deviance and suicide

Deviance• Causes of deviance – variables

drive people into crime• Official statistics show

correlations• Agents behind statistics and

collection are neutral/democratic

• There is a ‘normal’ standard – balance in society created by social forces (values/social order etc)

Suicide• Causes of suicide – variables

drive people to it – moral regulation/social intregration

• Official statistics help find correlations/causes

• Coroner is neutral –objectively records deaths

• There is a ‘normal’ standard in society – a balance of integration and regulation (values/social order etc)

Linking Labelling on deviance and suicide

Deviance• No causes of deviance – people are not driven into crime by social

forces• Deviance is caused by interaction/negotiating of meaning in society• Behaviour and meanings are socially constructed• Official statistics are simply a measure of social constructs and bias• Police/courts/media etc generate and reinforce stereotypes of the

deviant• There is no normal standard in society – deviance is relative. Most

people are deviant.• Some groups exercise power over gatekeeping/selective policing etc

(subjective)

Suicide• There are no causes of suicide – people negotiate reality/free choice• Official statistics cannot indicate causation – social constructs tell a

biased version of events• Coroners are far from neutral – hold stereotypes/social constructs

which distort their findings• There is no normal standard – no structural model of society which

directs people and maintains harmony/order – suicide is a complex process of personal choice in light of experiences.

• Suicide victims apply their own meanings to situations and actions – they are far from directed puppets.

Other suicide studies• Rushing (1975) – suicide is the result of labelling

somebody as a deviant/with weaknesses ….influence self esteem

• Kobler & Stotland (1964) – social reaction approach to suicide – how people can be made to feel helpless and hopeless by others (self concept – negative/no hope)..societal reaction/labelling

• Jacobs (1967) – looked at how suicidal individuals defined their situation – looked at meanings in suicide notes – found that they; felt situation unsolvable/death is the only answer/life is out of their control

Exam style question

Using material from X and elswhere,

assess the usefulness of different

sociological approaches to suicide

(12 marks)