Sociological Approach To Suicide

1440 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The sociological model of suicide focuses on the relationship between

A Sociological Approach to the Republic of Suicide

In the recent years, South Koreans have coined the word, “Republic of Suicide” to refer to South Korea as a nation of unfortunately high suicide rates. Unsurprisingly, South Koreans in all ages have significantly higher suicide rates compared to people of the majority of the other nations in the world today. Regarding various personal and psychological factors as secondary factors, this paper relies on the sociological arguments discussed by Emile Durkheim in his celebrated work, Suicide, to explain suicide as a social phenomenon. Drawing from Durkheim’s explanations of suicide in relations to social integration and regulation, this paper attempts to expound on the general trends of high …show more content…

According to Durkheim, egoistic suicide is a type of suicide that “springs from excessive individualism” (p.209), which is due to insufficient integration. The logic of the argument is, “the more weakened the groups to which he belongs, the less he depends on them, [and] the more he consequently depends only on himself”(p.209). This type of suicide involves a presumption that human beings need “a constant interchange of ideas and feeling from all to each and each to all, something like a mutual moral support”(p.210) in order to sustain. Durkheim argues that there is a reciprocal relationship between suicide and social integration and he specifically uses the integration of family, religion and nation state to support his arguments. Of the three main areas- family, religion and nation state-Durkheim discusses in Suicide, I will use lack of religious integration of a nation to demonstrate how it leads to egoistic suicide in …show more content…

Optional altruistic suicide is a form of altruistic suicide that “are less expressly required by society than when strictly obligatory”(p.223). Korea is a collectivistic society that emphasizes the goals of a collective whole and individuals are expected to subordinate their personal goals. Due to this collectivistic ideal, many elders who are not self-sufficient refuse to become a burden to their children and choose to commit an altruistic suicide. This is largely due to the poor social security and welfare system for senior citizens in Korea. Currently, national policies regarding welfare, public health, education, employment retirement policies presume life expectancy of 80 while the society has moved towards the Era of Longevity. The phrase “Era of Longevity” refers to the notion that our society has entered into an Age in which the average national life expectancy is 100 years and beyond. As a result, Korean seniors are not well prepared for their lives after the retirement. Society should no longer regard elders as subjects to look after but rather provide environment and resources for them to become independent entities who can be self-sufficient in their later lives. In order to do so, national educational policies, after-retirement plans, and public pension systems should reflect the Era of

Show More
Related

  • Durkheimian Theories Applied to Buffalo Creek

    1934 Words  | 4 Pages

    Durkheim’s concept of social integration refers to social groups with well-defined values, traditions, norms, and goals. These groups will differ in the degree to which individuals are part of the collective body, also to the extent to which the group is emphasized over the individual, and lastly the level to which the group is unified versus fragmented. Durkheim believed that two types of suicide, Egoistic and Altruistic, could stem from social integration. Egoistic suicide resulted from too little social integration. Those people who were not sufficiently bound to a social group would be left with little or no social support in times of crisis. This caused them to commit suicide more often. An example Durkheim discovered was that of unmarried people, especially males, who, with less to connect them to stable social groups, committed suicide at higher rates than married people. Altruistic suicide is a result of too much integration. It occurs at the opposite end of the social integration scale as egoistic suicide. Self sacrifice appears to be the driving force, where people are so involved with a social group that they lose sight of themselves and become more willing to take one for the team, even if this causes them to die. The most common cases of altruistic suicide occur to soldiers during times of war. Religious cults have also been a major source of altruistic suicide.

    Read More

  • Functionalist Perspective On Suicide In The United States

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emile Durkheim is a French sociologist who investigated suicide and the connection to society using the functionalist perspective. He talks about solidarity being a component of suicide. The less people that an individual has a connection to the more likely they are to consider taking their own life. Belonging to a social group can increase the sense of belonging that people have in their everyday life. Social stratification is a factor of whether someone feels like they belong in a group or not.

    Read More

  • Unseen Struggles: Abby's Tragic Tale

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    Her eyes were heavy, her body weak. As she crawled into the bathroom two feet away, Abby felt her body slowly succumbing to the numbness. All of her pain would be gone in less than 10 minutes, so why would she want to turn back? What about the senior trip Abby had planned with her best friend? What about the chair at the dinner table that would now be vacant? A couple of hours later Abby’s family came home from her little sister’s soccer game. Little did they know what they would find as they approached the top of the stairs. Her little sister, Ali, stood still as she looked down at her feet. There on the cold floor lay her big sister, her role model, and her super hero. Ali was crushed when she saw the pill bottle in her hand and the pale color of her skin. Her mom fell to her knees screaming and crying, wondering where she

    Read More

  • The Globalisation of Obesity

    3548 Words  | 8 Pages

    In 1897, Emile Durkheim (1997) showed that the suicide – perhaps the most personal of all decisions – could be analysed through the conceptual lenses of sociology.

    Read More

  • The Epidemic of Male Suicide

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” - Phil Donahue. As a complex, tragic public health issue, suicide occurs in men significantly more often than in women. Suicide is simply defined as the act of intentionally ending one’s own life, but the factors that play into a person making that decision are anything but simple. The most obvious and severe effect of suicide is the loss of a valuable, meaningful human life. According to Harvard School of Public Health (n.d.), suicide affects parents, children, siblings, friends, lovers and spouses; the loss for society is psychological, spiritual, and financial. People who lose a loved one to suicide often experience devastating effects and deal with a complex grief. These “suicide survivors” typically feel a range of emotions from sadness, blame, and guilt to extreme anger and confusion. “Suicide among males is four times higher than among females and represents 79% of all U.S. suicides” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2012). This gender paradox is one of the most compelling components regarding who is most at risk to attempt suicide. Why is it that men commit suicide more often than women? More than four times as many men as women die by suicide because depressed men are less likely to seek out help, men typically use more violent, lethal methods and cannot be resuscitated, and men carry the pressure of employment, providing for and protecting a family, and maintaining relationships.

    Read More

  • Durkheim Suicide Summary

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    This paper is a critical review of the French sociologist Emil Durkheim and his writings on suicide from his book titled ‘Suicide’ written in 1897. Durkheim was seen as a positivist and functionalist. In his book, Durkheim’s goal was to study people’s tendencies towards suicide and to determine the social causes behind them. Suicide, which Durkheim defined as ‘all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result’ (Durkheim, 1987).

    Read More

  • Surviving Suicide: Isolated by Social Stigmas

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    Suicide is the eleventh most common cause of death in the United States. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a person takes their own life once every fourteen minutes in the United States (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [AFSP], 2011). Still, with suicide rates so high, suicide is a taboo topic in our society. Though suicide is intended to end one person’s pain, it causes an immeasurable amount of pain and suffering to loved ones close to the deceased.

    Read More

  • Suicide from a Psychological, Sociological and Anthropological Perspective

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Study of Suicide: An overview of the famous work by Emile Durkheim, Ashley Crossman, 2009, http://sociology.about.com/od/Works/a/Suicide.htm, 25/12/2013

    Read More

  • Theories Of Suicide By Emile Durkheim

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    Emile Durkheim is a French sociologist that is commonly labeled as the “father of sociology”. In his book Suicide, Durkheim studied the suicide rates in Catholic and Protestant communities. He argued that the suicide rates are higher in Protestant communities because Catholics have stronger social control over their community. His research concluded that even though men are more likely to commit suicide than women, women who are unmarried and childless are more likely to commit suicide then those who aren’t. Durkheim stated “the term suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result”. (Pickering 2000) He theorized that there are four different types of suicide:

    Read More

  • What Is A Sociological Imagination Affect Social Life?

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sociological Imagination is being aware of relationships between personal experience and the wider society. Sociology takes a unique, astounding, and enlightening viewpoint on social events. Suicide is known as a supremely antisocial individual act. When people think about individuals committing suicide their more likely to look at their individual state of mind rather than the state society has on them. French sociologist Emilie Durkheim showed that suicide is more than just an individual act, suffering from psychological disorder but are also influenced by social forces. Durkheim believed people with a high degree of agreement are more likely to not be suicidal compared to those who had a low degree of solidarity. To support this argument Durkheim expressed that married couples are likely to live a happy life with no suicidal feelings rather than those who were unmarried as marriage creates social ties and moral cement which bind the individuals to society. We do not only live in society but society also lives in us. For example Social relations affect us all in many different ways. It plays with our

    Read More

  • Suicide Epidemic in South Korea

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development signed countries, South Korea leads with the highest rate of suicide. More than fourteen thousand South Koreans took their own lives in 2012 (Brown). During the years 2009 and 2010, a total of nearly thirty thousand people committed suicide. These thousands of suicides are often caused by issues within the social structure, almost unreachable standards of South Korea and other miseries. South Korea’s people consider suicide a growing and major problem of their society and culture and take many initiatives to aid in the possible saving of many lives. Laws and regulations have been passed to restrict and decrease suicide possibilities and results. The country has taken several actions to reduce the number of suicides the nation experiences. However, South Korea’s strict social attitude and structure is the root of the country’s nation-wide epidemic of suicide.

    Read More

  • Sociological Perspective On Teen Depression And Suicide

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are three main types of sociological perspectives in which you can perceive different sociological issues and concepts; structural-functional, symbolic-interaction, and social conflict. Structural-functional looks at society as a whole and how it works together. Symbolic-interaction is how different symbols spark particular thoughts and emotions by examining the meanings that people impose on objects, events and behaviors. Social conflict studies how power and coercion affect social order. Based off these types of perspectives, an analysis on teen depression and suicide can be evaluated from a sociological standpoint.

    Read More

  • The Social Effects Of Suicide As A Social Impact On Society

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite the assumption that suicide is an individualistic act committed by one person, suicide is actually a process of deterioration within a larger social context. The act itself has adapted over time in a variety of cultural groups and situations, not only in the methods used to commit suicide, but also the impact it has on society and the attitudes society has towards it (Curra 2011). This essay will critically evaluate the act of suicide through defining its deviances, social impact and management as well as apply social theories to better comprehend the act and make recommendations to control and limit its use. By conducting this project, it will allow us to better understand what drives individuals to commit this act, and the social meanings it represents.

    Read More

  • Suicide Research Paper

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    Suicide, it's not pretty. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's the

    Read More

  • Suicide In Malaysia Essay

    1507 Words  | 4 Pages

    Is there a common, agreed-upon definition of suicide? Throughout history, the word has had a variety of meanings, from the French Academy’s official definition in 1762 as “the murder of oneself” (Soubrier, 1993, p.35), to suicidologist Edwin Shneidman who wrote “suicide is a conscious act of self-inflicted cessation” (Shneidman, 1985, p.206). In such a way, suicide can be defined as the intentioned and destructive action to one’s interests or welfare by killing himself or herself, or of multiple people doing so (Barrett, 2010; Firestone, 1997). Suicide is a dramatic word that can change the way people view things in life. It is like a mystery that could happen to young, old, rich, and poor. In Malaysia, suicide rates are on the alarming state. It is a very serious problem and has been labeled as a growing epidemic by many health professionals in Malaysia (Tam et al., 2011). According to the National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) 2011, there was an average of 60 suicide cases per month, which means 2 suicides daily (Lum, 2013). Moreover, according to the report of a local newspaper in Malaysia, Nanyang Siang Pao (2010), there was 445 suicidal cases (347 males and 98 females) reported for the first eight months of 2010 as compared to 290 cases in 2008. Additionally, the suicide rates for those of 20-29 years old (108 cases) was significantly higher compared with other age groups (Nanyang Siang Pao, 2010). In order to minimize the suicide cases among students in Malaysia, peers play an important role by recognizing the warning signs, providing psychological support, and giving positive influences to their friends.

    Read More

More about Sociological Approach To Suicide

Open Document