Integration determines how many people an individual is interacting with and surround by, such as support groups. Regulation is determined by how many rules are put in place.
The first type of suicide is Egoistic. This occurs when there is too low of integration. For instance there is increased suicide with Protestants and lower with Catholics due to the connection they feel with the religion. Therefore, people are more likely to be suicidal if they are not involved in any religion because then they do not have that extra support system with them and that sense of belonging.
On the other hand, there is Altruistic suicide. This is when the level of integration is too high. An example of this would be suicide bombers or soldier in war. They make decisions based on beliefs that benefit the group rather than themselves. They are going into a situation knowing there is a high likely hood they might die. With such a high level of integration and sense of belonging, this is not an issue to them.
The third type is Anomic suicide. Anomic suicide consists of very low regulation. This heightens the sense of the unknown. An example of this one would be economic instability or recession.
The last type of suicide Durkheim talked about was Fatalistic suicide. This occurs when there is far too much regulation. Some examples of this would be the military, prisons, or even slavery. People in this category feel there is no other choice than to abide by the rules and feel death is the only way out of it.
Overall, Emilie Durkheim could sum up the main categories of suicide by observing how each individual felt in terms of integration and regulation. It is important that society finds and equal balance between these two items.
I like the visual to help explain the four types of suicide. You do a nice job of summarizing; I was wondering if you agree with Durkheim that all suicides fall into one of these four and/or that are indeed four. I also wonder how knowing these four types could help explain and in turn? help prevent such tragedies. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteI missed this class on suicide, and reading this actually helped me to grasp the concepts pretty easily. The visual was also helpful to see the different areas of suicide. I'm wondering your opinion on whether or not you think one type is more prevelant and applies to our society today more than the other? Definitions were very clear and easy to read, which is helpful to me rather than trying to piece together the textbook :)
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