Suicide

Suicide can be seen as the ultimate deviant act going against the natural instinct to protect oneself from harm and has been argued as a selfish act caused and carried out by an individual. Suicide in modern day society is often seen as a response to internal unhappiness rather than extrinsic elements such as a lack of social integration or economic climate. However, in periods of austerity, times of war, job market change and an increasingly secularised West suicide is increasing, in the last 45 years global suicide rates have increased by 60%. Functionalist Durkheim, studied suicide statistics finding differing results across regions, religions and marital status proposing that suicide is a social phenomenon rather than individual. Durkheim suggested types of suicide such as egoistic and altruistic but based his theory on the notion of social cohesion, value consensus and bonds. Whilst Durkheim focused on a lack of these aspects as a cause of suicide he has been criticised for failing to recognise individual meanings attached to suicide and the sheer importance of the act, suicides can occur for many different reasons that perhaps cannot be categorised.

Durkheim argued there are social facts which determine suicide rates, the extent of social integration and bonds to the wider group and moral regulation or the extent to which an individual’s desires are kept in check. If social bonds are low an individual will revert back to their selfish nature and be more inclined to commit suicide as they feel no obligation to others and no sense of belonging. If moral regulation is also low, individuals desires and aspirations will escalate and not be able to be satisfied leaving them feeling deprived and perhaps depressed. In a society with little integration, individualism will be stressed, therefore individual failure will be condemned and will be seen as an acceptable reason to commit suicide, this type of suicide Durkheim coined egoistic. Egoistic suicide is because of the dominance of individualism however Durkheim’s explanation of altruistic suicide suggests that dominance of collectivism can too cause suicide. Altruistic suicide is often seen in times of war, it is the act of committing suicide on behalf of wider society such as Japanese kamikaze pilots or modern day Islamic suicide bombers who commit suicide out of such a strong affiliation with society or religious group in contrast to individualism. These two conflicting causes of suicide share a common theme, the bond between a society and its people. Durkheim suggests that suicide can arise from an extreme alienation to society and an extreme affiliation suggesting suicide is predominantly influence by society rather than internal conflicts or unhappiness.

Depression can be argued as a leading cause for modern day suicide, whether it is defined as unhappiness or mental illness its effects can cause devastating effects on a person and lead them to suicide. Depression can stem from unemployment, poor living conditions, powerlessness or trauma which can make a person feel fatalistic. In austerity Britain, deprivation and high unemployment has caused an increase in this fatalistic attitude and prospects are low, this sense of fatalism was also suggested by Durkheim as a cause of suicide. However, Durkheim proposed fatalistic suicide came from an oppressive society perhaps that under a communist regime and suggested this explanation of suicide could shed light on the reason for high prison suicides. Whilst fatalism may come from an oppressive society such as that of North Korea where escape or liberty seems unlikely and may lead to suicide as individuals feel trapped with no future, it can also be present in Britain despite liberal society. Social problems such as high unemployment and deprivation can cause a culture of fatalism and a lack of motivation leading to depression and perhaps suicide. This could highlight that whilst Durkheim recognises a fatalistic attitude can influence suicide rates, his theory is perhaps outdated as it focuses on oppressive societies as a whole rather than individuals who may feel fatalistic due to individual circumstances of depression or unemployment.

Suicide borne from depression is more likely to affect males as they are less likely to seek help or admit to defeat. There is an increasing gender imbalance in suicide rates with 18.2 suicides per 100,000 for men and just 5.6 for women. Feminists have attempted to explain this gender inequality in suicide through the concept of masculinity, whilst a common cause of crime amongst men it is also a cause for suicide. Many men measure themselves against a “gold standard” of masculinity classified by power and control, an important part of this is having a job and providing for a family. When men feel they fall short of this standard perhaps due to unemployment or increasing women filling job positions  they feel shame. Through primary socialisation, masculinity is a high priority for many men so they may feel defeat and failure if they do not feel masculine, they may turn to suicide to escape this failure, in contrast to women who do not have the need to be masculine and are not socialised to aspire to being manly. Due to this concept of masculinity men are less likely to seek help if they feel depressed, whereas women will consult a counsellor, males have been suggested to have emotional illiteracy and therefore turn to suicide rather than a medical professional.  Female suicides often stem from a feeling of failure as a mother, a relationship breakdown or increasingly in modern societies from a societal pressure on appearances. These differing causes of suicide amongst the genders suggest that society is a strong impact on suicide rates, as socialisation may set up a child to have fixed views on gender roles that if failed at, they may turn to suicide to escape the shame of falling short of society’s standard.

Whilst many sociologists suggest suicide is caused by external factors from society, interpretvists suggest that suicide is a more personal act than first thought by Durkheim. For example, Douglas suggested that attempted suicide or unsuccessful suicide had meanings attached to it such as achieving fellow feeling or a plea for help, perhaps attempting suicide is an expression of internal pain attempting to ask others for help for personal problems such as alcohol abuse. If suicide is seen as caused by external factors such as an oppressive society, masculinity or lack of social bonds then it could be assumed the individual has little understanding of why they feel they must commit suicide as it is perhaps caused by an accumulation of outside aspects, however Jacobs studied suicide letters and found most people had a rational and logical explanation for their deviant act. He suggested that many people who committed suicide could easily justify their actions suggesting they knew the causes of their decision perhaps suggesting suicide is more personal and intrinsic as it can be explained by the individual themselves despite perhaps their ignorance to the supposed external factors influencing them. Interpretevists have criticised Durkheim for being heavily reliant on the concept of social cohesion despite their being no empirical evidence and social cohesion is subjective, they suggest there are many meanings attached to suicide which cannot be explained by a lack of social bonds. Looking at suicide through a positivist approach means you ignore the extensive and often complex meanings behind suicide, for example suicide is less likely to be spur of the moment but rather have a multitude of causes. Positivists base their knowledge on suicide rates proposed by official statistics however interactionists suggest that these are merely constructed as the coroner has labelled the act as suicide.

Suicide has been a compelling phenomena for centuries, peaking in times of recession and reducing in times of patriotic war yet like many crimes each suicide is often different, with different causes and justifications suggesting that whilst sociologists attempt to categorise suicide it is perhaps more complex than first explained by Durkheim. New forms of suicide are emerging in modern society such as that of risk taking or parasuicides, gambling with a life is perhaps the most tantalising thrill seeking act of deviance there is. Postmodernism! Under Durkheim’s four umbrella terms for types of suicide there is much more to be understood, there are many factors such as depression, deprivation and even the notion of gender which can cause peaks and troughs in suicide rates.