Positivism and

Interpretivism applied
to the Theme of Suicide
 OBJECTIVES
❖ State how Durkheim’s study of suicide is a proof of
positivist methodology.
❖ State the methodologies used in Durkheim’s suicide
study
❖ Explain the types of suicide mentioned
❖ Assess the findings of Durkheim’s suicide studies
The Study of Suicide by
Emile Durkheim
Proof
Concepts
Key words
 PROOF
Durkheim’s study uses the logic
of multivariate statistical
analysis, which is now widely
used in the discipline of
sociology. Durkheim considered
factors including country,
marital status, religion, and
education level to explain
variations in suicide rates.
 STUDY
The sociological study of suicide remains
rooted in founder Émile Durkheim’s empirical
study of suicide, still the disciplines’ greatest
contribution to suicidology. Durkheim’s theory
consists of two core principles:

(1) the structure of suicide rates is a positive

function of the structure of a group or class of
people’s social relationships and those

(2) social relationships vary according to their

level of integration and (moral) regulation.
 NOTE!
A collective’s moral order controls and coordinates
its member’s attitudes and behaviours.
 METHODOLOGIES
Durkheim is a classic positivist
sociologist who used official
statistics in his study of suicide
from a positivist perspective.
Durkheim considered factors
including country, marital status,
religion, and education level to
explain variations in suicide
rates.
 INTEGRATION
01 AND SUICIDE

Social
Relationships
The more extensive and
denser a collective’s social
relationships, the more
enmeshed individual
group members become.
INTEGRATION
Altruistic Suicide
Altruistic suicide occurs when
Egoistic Suicide social group involvement is
too high. Individuals are so
Suicides resulting well integrated into the group
that they are willing to
from isolation and
sacrifice their own life in order
a lack of collective to fulfil some obligation for
belonging. the group.
 02
REGULATION
AND SUICIDE
 This is caused by the lack of
social regulation and it occurs
during high levels of stress and
frustration. Anomic suicide
stems from sudden and
unexpected changes in
situations.
ANOMIC SUICIDE
It occurs when individuals are
kept under tight regulation.
These individuals are placed FATALISTIC
under extreme rules or high
expectations are set upon them,
SUICIDE
which removes a person’s sense
of self or individuality.
 From this Durkheim came to
the conclusion that suicide
rates were not driven by the
individual but by social factors.
If suicide was individually
influenced the statistics would
have been more scattered.
DURKHEIM’S
CONCLUSION
 Suicide by a Suicide by prisoners.
lottery winner.

Suicide by Jews in a
German concentration
camp during the war.

Suicide by members
Suicide by a of the radical Islamic
long-term Hamas group.
unemployed person.
 THANKS!
Do you have any questions?

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