Introduction
Suicide – the act of intentionally killing oneself – is a complex sociological and psychological issue. The individualistic view of suicide posits that people end their lives due to some internal issues, mental health problems, or decisions that are not related to the outside world. However, at the end of the nineteenth century, Émile Durkheim presented a different perspective on suicide, connecting it to social integration. The suicide and society theory is the pioneering sociological framework for analyzing suicide, and Durkheim argues about the role of social influence on one’s suicidal thoughts.
Relationship Between Suicide and Society
The basis of Durkheim’s theory about social integration is that people’s ideas of suicide are dependent on their connections within society. As the researcher reviewed different population segments – married and single men and women, followers of different religions, soldiers and civilians, he found correlations between their integration and propensity to end their own lives (Hossen, 2022). For example, his study notes that suicide rates are higher among single people than married people, especially among men. Similarly, soldiers end their lives more often than civilians, and Protestants commit suicide at a higher rate than Catholics or Jewish people.
Durkheim concluded that suicide could not be considered a personal act but a result of one’s existence within society (Kołodziej-Sarzyńska et al., 2019). Thus, integration and regulation play significant roles in influencing people’s lives, and suicide becomes a social gesture, an outcome of their view of themselves in the community. The scientist represented this classification on the two axes – regulation and integration – and their corner points, as shown in Figure 1. As a result, one can distinguish between four types of suicide: altruistic, fatalistic, egoistic, and anomic.
Typology of Suicide
Egoistic Suicide
The first type in Durkheim’s classification is egoistic suicide, which is located at the integration axis. In this case, social integration refers to the degree of attachment to or detachment from other people, roles, and responsibilities. Alienation from society and the absence of strong and meaningful bonds make people feel alone and lost in the world (Kołodziej-Sarzyńska et al., 2019). As a result, an individual may not find any purpose in living, developing depression and apathy.
Durkheim highlights the value of social support for decreasing people’s risk of suicide and believes that some societies may suffer from this problem on a significant scale if they have a high degree of individuation (Malik & Malik, 2022). An example of egoistic suicide is committed by single men who do not have or have lost relationships that tether them to the world. Unmarried and divorced men, older people who lost their spouses and friends, and people who otherwise exist without social support are among the examples of people most susceptible to this suicide type of suicide.
Altruistic Suicide
Altruistic suicide is located on the opposite end of the axis. According to Durkheim’s theory, the overwhelming influence of social integration may also pose a risk to people’s lives (Malik & Malik, 2022). A person regulated by social bonds to an excessive degree may be influenced to commit suicide for the community’s perceived benefit.
In altruistic suicide, in contrast to the egoistic type, a person experiences a strong connection to their community and is involved in its development and existence (Hossen, 2022). As a result, one’s death may be viewed as a means to the group’s prosperity, thereby devaluing individual lives. Examples of altruistic suicide may include soldiers and extremists who take their own lives in hopes of achieving the goals of their communities.
Anomic Suicide
The other axis proposed by Durkheim is regulation, and anomic suicide refers to the lack of cohesion within society. In contrast to egoistic suicide, where a person feels the absence of social bonds, anomic suicide describes one’s disconnection from the community and one’s purpose in it. The researcher explained the problem with the term anomie – the lack of belonging to a society that arises from changing or disappearing norms (Malik & Malik, 2022).
As an outcome, one may not understand their role or the overall state of the community, and become so confused that they decide to end their life. Economic, political, social, and other problems may drive people to suicide, and an extreme change in one’s social position is a typical example of this type. Individuals who lost all their money during a financial crisis or became homeless due to natural disasters are at high risk of anomic suicide.
Fatalistic Suicide
Finally, the fourth type of suicide in Durkheim’s classification is fatalistic suicide. Standing at the other end of the regulatory axis, this concept describes one’s death due to the excess of control and oppression. It should be noted that Durkheim views this type as theoretical, believing that it is highly unlikely to exist in real life (Malik & Malik, 2022). Fatalistic suicide occurs in societies that regulate individuals to a degree where one chooses to die rather than live under control. In contrast to anomic suicide, the roles in such communities may be rigidly defined, not allowing one to express other passions or change their social standing.
Durkheim presents the example of prisoners who commit suicide as a way of escaping prison abuse (Hossen, 2022). However, a modern example is the high rate of suicides among Korean pop artists who experience high levels of business and audience control over their performances, views, and appearances (Zysik, 2021). While the type of oppression is not political, the lack of freedom and increased pressure may be described as causes of fatalistic suicide.
Suicide Prevention
The suicide and society theory introduced by Durkheim highlights the need to address suicide as a social issue. Therefore, prevention tactics should also target communities rather than individuals to foster strong bonds and present people with opportunities for stability and a sense of belonging. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2022), some strategies include enhancing economic support for individuals and creating environments that protect them from financial and health-related issues. Mental and physical healthcare should be accessible to all people, accompanied by education and emotional learning programs (CDC, 2022). Crisis response professionals should be trained to handle potential suicide attempts with compassion and empathy, and all community members should be given tools to increase resilience.
Conclusion
Suicide is a significant concern in many social groups, and modern sociology does not view it as an individualistic issue. Durkheim’s theory of suicide and social integration demonstrates the connection between one’s environment and the desire to live. The four types of suicide – egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic – expose the imbalance in regulation and integration in some societies, influencing people’s suicide risks. Socially integrated people, given enough freedom to express themselves and supported by the community, are less likely to end their lives.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Prevention strategies.
Hossen, M. (2022). The social suicide rates: A review on Durkheim’s theory of suicide. Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 18(4), 129-134.
Kołodziej-Sarzyńska, M., Majewska, M., Juchnowicz, D., & Karakuła-Juchnowicz, H. (2019). Risk factors of suicide with reference to the theory of social integration by Émile Durkheim. Psychiatria Polska, 865-881.
Malik, H. A., & Malik, F. A. (2022). Emile Durkheim contributions to sociology. International Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research (IJAMR), 6(2), 7-10.
Zysik, C. (2021). K-pop and suicide–marginalization and resistance in the Korean pop industry. SAMPLES, 19, 1-18.