Emile Durkheim's Theories on Suicide

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“Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the United States… In 2010, men had a suicide rate of 19.9, and women had a rate of 5.2. Of those who died by suicide in 2010, 78.9% were male and 21.1% were female.” (Parker-Pope, 2013) Emile Durkheim had many theories about suicide in the role of society in terms of the direction an individual decides to take in life. To Durkeim, there are four different types of suicide; Egotisitic, Altruistic, Anomic, and lastly Fatalistic suicide. By learning about the categories of suicide we can better diagnose the types of those are more prominent in the United States of America. The most prominent types of suicide for women in the United States, whether young or old, are Anomic and Fatalistic. According to Durkheim, Anomic suicideis type of suicide that comes about because of a certain breakdown of social equilibrium, such as, suicide after bankruptcy or after winning a lottery. In other words, anomic suicide takes place in a situation which has popped up suddenly. This type of suicide is visible in adults, not necessarily committing the act because of something good like winning the lottery, but rather any sudden change that can throw a life off balance. “Over the last decade, the rate of suicide among adults ages 35 to 64 increased 28 percent, from 13.7 suicides per 100,000 people in 1999, to 17.6 suicides per 100,000 people in 2010.” (Rettner, 2013) A somewhat great example of this type of anomic suicide is country singer Mindy McCready. McCready was a famous country singer who rose to fame and then slowly fell after an abusive relationship drove her to drug addiction. Every time her life went out of balance; breaking up with a fiance, or being losing custody of her children, she attem... ... middle of paper ... ...tt’s peers deemed her unclean and cast her out. (Stebner, 2013) Durkheim’s views on the Anomic and Fatalistic types of suicide may not be the only reasons of which a person may commit suicide. There are many factors that play a part in someone committing suicide and it is difficult to say whether these are the reasons. Durkheim did, however help in identifying some of the tell-tale signs for someone who is suicidal. Works Cited Bhatt, A. (n.d.). What are the types of suicide given by Durkheim? PreserveArticles.com. Parker-Pope, T. (2013). Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in U.S. New York: TheNewYorkTimes.com. Rettner, R. (2013). Suicide rates spike among middle-aged US adults. FoxNews.com. Stebner, B. (2013). Audrie Pott suicide: Details of online chats emerge a year after teen killed herself following alleged assault and cyberbullying. New York: TheDailyNews.com.

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