Psychodynamic Theories Of Suicide Essay

Durkheim proceeded to distinguish suicide into four different groups that related to the individual’s integration into society and in turn the social regulation of society over its members. ‘Consequently, we shall be able to determine the social types of suicide by classifying them not directly by their preliminarily described characteristics, but by the causes which produce them…. We will first seek the social conditions responsible for them; then group these conditions in a number of separate classes by their resemblances and differences, and we shall be sure that a specific type of suicide will correspond to each of these classes.’ (Durkheim, 1897) The four suicide groups were identified as Egotistic, Anomic, Altruistic and Fatalistic.

Egoistic suicide which is when individuals are not integrated well enough into society for example people who live alone compared to those who live with family. Secondly Altruistic suicide which is when individuals are felt to be too integrated into society causing suicide, for example members of the armed forces were said to have greater suicide rates than civilian personnel as they were too strongly integrated into a united body. Durkheim also put forward the idea of Anomic suicide, this is when the norms and values in society become unclear or confused in times of great social change and an individual is not taught to adapt to changes well enough. For example an unexpected death of a family member is sudden social change which can cause Anomic suicide. Lastly, he suggested Fatalistic suicide. Fatalism is the excessive amount of regulation which leads to one committing suicide.

Although no incidences of suicide were referenced in the article, this increased interaction could lead to an increase in both egoistic and altruistic suicide. Durkheim’s theory on anomic suicide states: “People are more likely to kill themselves when they do not know what is expected of them, when regulation is low, and they are largely free to run wild. This mad pursuit is likely to prove unsatisfying and, as a

Susanna Kaysen once said, “Suicide is a form of murder - premeditated murder…you need the means, the opportunity, the motive. A successful suicide demands good organization and a cool head, both of which are usually incompatible with the suicidal state of mind.” Being the 10th leading cause of death in the world, Suicide is a serious public health problem that many people know about but will never fully understand. The never-ending question tied to this phenomenon is what can cause a person to take his or her own lives. With the help of Emile Durkheim’s theory I can finally somewhat understand that it is not just an individual factor but also based on the society around the individual.

 Thesis: While Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, I believe That Suicide is wrong.

Durkheim does not see egoism, altruism, anomie and fatalism as types of suicide, but types of social structure that highlight the presence or lack of integration and regulation. It must be stressed that this excess/lack of integration and regulation are not seen as direct causes of suicide, rather Durkheim sees a number of voluntary deaths in society as inevitable; integration and regulation are merely prophylactic to suicidal impulses, which when taken to excess or dramatically reduced, fail to act as a preventative, and so suicides occur. This clarification is an important strength of Durkheim’s theory: it allows the biography of the individuals who kill themselves to vary, while still explaining underlying pressures/lack of to explain their deaths, and the varying suicide rates between groups.

When we think of someone committing suicide, we assume that the person committing the act must have been dealing with psychological issues, or was suffering from mental illness. Very rarely do we attribute societal factors to a person’s decision to end their life. However, the French scholar Émile Durkheim made this connection. Durkheim saw a correlation between social conditions and suicide (Appelrouth and Edles, 2016). Consequently, he conducted a study on suicide, from which he determined that suicide was a result of anomie and egoism. In an analysis of The New York Times article, “In Unit Stalked by Suicide, Veterans Try to Save One Another” by Dave Phillips, one can apply the theories of

What triggers suicide? Common answers include depression, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, loss of hope, feelings of hopelessness (Caruso), and the list goes on. While these are major triggers contributing to suicide, they are not the only triggers. Sociologist Emile Durkheim would argue, “social factors underlie suicide. (Henslin, 2013)” In order to understand this viewpoint, a brief overview of Durkheim’s research, possible reasons for his conclusions, and finally, the types of suicide Durkheim identified, as well as examples and possible reasons for committing these types of suicide would be helpful.

People are ending their lives every day whether we as a society are aware of it or not. The situation or problem may be temporary but the solution and outcome is always permanent. This affects our society because when hearing about a suicidal incident or if it is someone that was known, it brings curiosity on one to want to know what they could have done to prevent it, or what options are there out there to help and decrease certain deviance behaviors such as this. This self-destruction deviance should not be happening, however it is. Emile Durkheim’s Anomie theory explains it is a condition in which the society provides little moral guidance to individuals; it is basically the analysis of social bonds between an individual and the community. Therefore, suicide relates and affects the society individually and collectively. It’s amazing how in the most prosperous nation on earth, America; research states almost five million of its inhabitants at some time in their lives attempt suicide. Though this is only attempting, every twenty minutes someone is the United States commits suicide. Another interesting fact that astound me was knowing the rates and who were more likely committing and attempting suicide in our society, and it stated that it is mostly attempted by people in their “prime of life” which are between the ages of 24 and 44, however suicide is also rising in “prime of the youth” ages also 15 to 24 years of age.

Egoistic suicide is a result of a lack of integration; altruistic suicide is a result of too much integration; anomic suicide is a result of too little regulation; and fatalistic suicide is a result of too much regulation (MGH, 2004)

All I ever thought about suicide was that if you kill yourself you’re going to go to hell Suicide is defined as the act or an instance of taking one 's own life voluntarily and intentionally. But why does one commit suicide you can ask yourself. Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental issues or disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behavior. Some examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, addictive disorders, schizophrenia etc.

Durkheim 's Sociological Theory of suicide identifies three different types of suicide - egoistic, altruistic and anomic. Egoistic suicide victims feel that they have too few ties to society and community. They feel alienated from others and cut off from the social supports that are important to keep them functioning adaptively as social beings. Altruistic suicides are responses to societal demands.

According to Emile Durkheim 's theory ; there are four "types" of suicide, Egoistic, Altruistic, Anomic, and Fatalistic suicide. EGOISTIC (selfish) suicide occurs after someone has a lack of social integration and is not supported in a social group. When someone feels like they don’t belong somewhere and the only person they have in their life is themselves; when someone is lonely. The second type of suicide is ALTRUSITIC, this

The second major work from Durkheim is Suicide, which was a study of suicide published in 1897. In this study, Durkheim wanted to find the reasons that people commit suicide and the different rates of suicide in different niches in society. He argued that there were four different kinds of suicide, based on two social forces: social integration and social regulation. The four different types of suicide that emerged from these forces were: egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and finally fatalistic (Nelson 2013b). Egoistic suicide occurs because the person has no feeling of worth, the person is apathetic and depressed. If the person does not belong to a community and has no experience of it, they are more likely to commit egoistic suicide, which Durkheim stated as a decrease in social integration (Nelson 2013b). The second form was altruistic suicide, which occurs because a person feels overwhelmed by the pressures of society, if the community has beliefs that lead to his death or if the person must commit suicide in order to benefit the society (Nelson 2013b). The third form of suicide is anomic, which occurs when a person has a lack of direction. If the organic solidarity described by Durkheim is, his other works does not occur then one is more likely to commit anomic suicide

Emile Durkheim identifies four broad types of suicide viz, egoistic, altruistic, anomic and fatalistic. Fatalistic is caused by excessive social regulation (blocked by passion), altruistic is not legitimately studied by Durkheim. Anomic type is caused when an individual is provided with ill- defined objectives/ goals that make the possibility of failure high. And egoistic occurs when the ties binding the individual to others are slackened and there is absence of adequate social integration. Farmer suicide in India