Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Suicide using Data from Modern Nations

A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Suicide using Data from Modern Nations 235 A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Suicide using Data from Modern Nations DAVID LESTER* ABSTRACT A set of social indicators available for a sample of 47 modern nations was factor analyzed, and two independent measures were identified which appeared to tap social integration and social regulation. The 47 nations were then categorized as high, moderate or low in each of the two dimensions and classified into a 3-by-3 cell array. The suicide rates of the nations in this array were not in accord with Durkheim's theory. Durkheim (1897) proposed that suicide rates of societies would vary with both the degree of social integration and social regulation. When social integration was very high or very low, suicide would be common, leading to altruistic and egoistic suicide respectively. Similarly, when social regulation was very high or very low suicide would be common, leading to fatalistic and anomic suicide respectively. Johnson (1965) noted that the theory leads to a 3-by-3 cell array (see Table 1). Suicide rates should be highest in each of the four corner cells, where social integration and regulation are both low and/or high and lowest in the center cell where both variables are moderate. Previous research http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Comparative Sociology (in 2002 continued as Comparative Sociology) Brill

A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Suicide using Data from Modern Nations

Download PDF
4 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/brill/a-test-of-durkheim-s-theory-of-suicide-using-data-from-modern-nations-OvKT4d0YPC

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1989 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0020-7152
eISSN
1745-2554
DOI
10.1163/156854289X00570
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

235 A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Suicide using Data from Modern Nations DAVID LESTER* ABSTRACT A set of social indicators available for a sample of 47 modern nations was factor analyzed, and two independent measures were identified which appeared to tap social integration and social regulation. The 47 nations were then categorized as high, moderate or low in each of the two dimensions and classified into a 3-by-3 cell array. The suicide rates of the nations in this array were not in accord with Durkheim's theory. Durkheim (1897) proposed that suicide rates of societies would vary with both the degree of social integration and social regulation. When social integration was very high or very low, suicide would be common, leading to altruistic and egoistic suicide respectively. Similarly, when social regulation was very high or very low suicide would be common, leading to fatalistic and anomic suicide respectively. Johnson (1965) noted that the theory leads to a 3-by-3 cell array (see Table 1). Suicide rates should be highest in each of the four corner cells, where social integration and regulation are both low and/or high and lowest in the center cell where both variables are moderate. Previous research

Journal

International Journal of Comparative Sociology (in 2002 continued as Comparative Sociology) – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1989

There are no references for this article.