Self Destructive Deviance : Suicide

"More people in the general population die from suicide than homicide in North America. There are almost 11 suicide deaths each year for every 100,000 people living in the United States, and for every suicide, there are between 8 and 25 attempts" (Brent 4203). Based on this research, the great effect of suicide is displayed. According to dictionary.com, suicide can be defined as "the intentional taking of one's own life." Suicide is a major issue for all people, but it most obviously affects those ranging from ten to twenty-four. People need to understand the tremendous ramifications caused from suicide everyday; when people take their lives, others lose their loved ones. Suicide, one of the leading causes of death of numerous people each day, has reached a crisis point for adolescents and young adults, and it needs to be prevented.

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.

The approach of looking at suicide as violating normal behaviors socially is what makes me go down into the idea of researching such a topic. In particular, what are the theoretical components of making and individual commit suicide? How does deviance correlate with the idea of suicide in sociology?

Most of the depression and problems in the brain are based on sociological denial from peers and others. Teen suicide as described by Emile Durkheim’s studies is mainly a focus on the social denial and rejection an individual may encounter in life. Social rejection, sociological disasters and group dynamics are important aspects that lead to teenagers committing suicide. These sociological issues are some of the leading contributions towards teen suicide and

The first sociologist to theorize on suicide and its sociological interpretations was Emile Durkheim. Durkheim worked during the late 1800’s identifying social structures as the key determinant in self-destructive behaviour. In his work Suicide: A study in Sociology, Durkheim stated that “suicide rates increase when a society’s value system breaks down.”2 Durkheim believed that the shared values of a society and the mechanisms in place that ensure that its members adhere to these values, is interpreted as a person’s “social structure.” Durkheim suggested two basic factors in social structure that heavily influence the incidence of suicide. These are regulation and integration. He believed that an individual needs to become part of, and find direction in his own society. Without these factors in place, suicide becomes a common substitute. Teens are often anxious about fitting in to their society (especially among peer groups) so it is clear that integration is essential to adolescence. Durkheim also suggested that it is these two factors

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

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.

Furthermore, social scientists have not been too involved in the topic of suicide. Since 1990-2009 there have not been many article on the topic and the disinterest can derive from the presumption that suicide is a lonesome act. The article “Suicide and the Creative Class,” states that, “Durkheim ([1897] 2006) illustrated that suicide is a social phenomenon by stating that levels of integration and

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

Durkheim’s findings suggested that suicide rates vary between societies but do show regular patterns over time. He concluded that this was evidence that there are consistent social forces that influence the rate of suicide in society. In sum, Durkheim believed that for society to maintain a state of equilibrium there needs to be an appropriate degree of integration and regulation; a consequence of any imbalance is an increased rate of suicide. However, despite Durkheim’s study of society being viewed by many as a classic, it has been met

Relevance Statement: According to Medical Author: Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, Depression is the leading cause of suicide. In a national survey of high school students, nearly 20% of teens thought about attempting suicide, and more than 8% made a suicide attempt. Over half of all kids who suffer from depression will eventually attempt suicide at least once, and over 7% will die as a result.

Anomic suicide is the absence of the social control. It almost as if there is a perception of separation from society and the sense of not being included which can then lead to a depleted social unity. Anomic suicide may occur during periods of economic, social, or political change. However, when situations are constantly changing in relation to economic and social changes there is a possibility that individuals are more likely to commit suicide. Durkheim asserted that there is an association between a society's suicide rate and the way society functions. Industrial and financial crises, for example, increase the suicide rate, this in fact can contribute to the crises of the economy. However, the increase in suicide isn’t because of poverty in which there can be periods of economic growth and can also lead to increasing rates of suicide. What I don’t understand how there can be an increase in suicides when there is a financial crisis with the economy and when there is economic growth. I would have expected that there would be a decrease in suicides during the period of economic growth. Can it be that there are unexpected modifications with the expectations of society. When society is regulated and then completely breaks down this is the

When it comes to suicide often as individuals we describe suicide as something that is caused by an individuals experience that may include how someone lives, personalities, and religion. While also including that there are no biological influence that may be passed on from genetics, genes, and heredity that can come from depressions. However, Durkheim argues against that suicide is caused by social factors and how involved or integrated the individuals is in connection to society. Usually when asked why someone decided to kill himself or herself we usually think of what he/she was thinking about in their mind. Almost pertaining to the individuals decision we wouldn’t be thinking about society as something that could have caused suicide but

Durkheim views suicide as a marker for the health and well being of society, if the suicide rates begin to start changing then that means there is a major change going on in our culture. Suicide is all how you about how well or not well you feel connected to society and the social norms of society. Every different type of suicide says and shows different things about that individual and the society they are in and what society is going through. Anomie, is a when society has little to no standards or norms. Egoistic suicide is one who has low social interaction with others in society and they feel lonely and feel as if they are an outsider and take their own life. Altruistic suicide is when someone gives up their own life for the good of the

The overwhelming argument of the work presents the idea that while Suicide is an individual occurrence, suicide rates, which are relatively stable in unique societies, are social. Durkheim states that every civilization is prone to a certain number of suicides. Therefore, suicide rates are said to be influenced by two unique social factors, the extent of integration of an individual in their respective society, and the amount of regulation of that person by society. In other words, the greater a person feels a connection to or a part of their society, the less likely they are to commit suicide. Egoistic Suicide is typically the result of individuals lacking this connection. Furthermore, a person may commit anomic suicide, which stems from too little regulation in their society and the lack of clear