What Causes Suicide? ...Continued
by Valerie Jupe
The
American Association of
Suicidology reported that in 1996 suicide was the 9th ranking
cause of death in the United States (“Suicide Statistics”). For
youth, however, suicide appears to be the 3rd leading cause of
fatality (“Suicide Statistics”). This information is all too
disturbing, especially with the realization (and this is repeated in every
statistical text concerning suicide) that suicide is the leading cause of death
for college students barring car “accidents”. John Donnelly, editor
of a book on suicide, relates that a 1991 survey of 11,631 high school students
in all 50 states turned up evidence that 27% of the students interviewed
seriously considered suicide within the past
year and 8% had attempted it (9).
More chilling are Donnelly’s statistics which show that in 1994
approximately 5,350 people between the ages of 15 and 24 killed themselves (9).
Globally, his statistics put the approximate total number of annual suicides at
somewhere around 730,000 (Donnelly 9). Louis Dublin, a sociologist, reported in
1963 that he believed, after gaining much statistical data concerning suicide,
at least 200,000 people in America alone attempt suicide each year (3). Of
course, all statistics concerning suicide are thought to be inaccurate due to
the social stigma surrounding the act, which leads families and doctors to
state the causes of death to be something more palatable. Dublin broke the
death toll down in these terms: “Out of every 1,000 male infants born, 15
will kill themselves. Out of every 1,000 female infants born, 4 will kill
themselves” (15). (For a visual look at the frequency of suicide, please
refer to the charts and graphs at the end of this paper.) Obviously suicide is
a much more frequent occurrence, especially in a college setting, than most
people probably realize.
The frequency of suicide brings up the
question, again and again, of what causes it. Sociologists contend the strong
influence of social factors and relationships, as well as a complex, impersonal
society, leads to self-destruction. Most psychologists, on the other hand,
believe suicide results from internalized aggression and hopelessness. Many of
these psychologists also have psychodynamic views, which rely greatly on the
Freudian school of psychology. A more contemporary scientific area,
biochemistry, places much importance on genetics, hormones, and especially
neurotransmitters and amino acids.
In most cases, these
views alone cannot justify the act of suicide if only because human life is
not so simple as to exist solely for
one area of science to explain. There are multiple scientific theories
because the human mind is far too
complex to be ruled by only one type of factor. Be they psychologically or
biologically internal, or sociologically external,
all factors that shape a human
being’s “reality” must also shape the reasons for its
destruction. Therefore, sociological, psychological, and biochemical aspects
must be interrelated in the causation of suicide.
Sociologists base their study on group
theory or the ideology that human beings are social animals who create society
and are subsequently influenced by
this society. From the day of birth to well after death, most humans spend
their entire lives in groups. In the hospital, infants are kept in a room with
other infants and after death most bodies are stored with other corpses in
cemeteries or mausoleums. These are merely examples of socialization, which
incorporates a human from day one until post-mortem. Human groups come in two
different types, the primary group and the secondary group. Primary groups
consist of family and friends. They are based on identification, emotion, and
strong attachments which lead to personal growth and, moreover, development as
a human being. Secondary groups are more impersonal and utilitarian, like
classrooms or workplaces. In these groups people learn skills that will advance
them in the ordered society around them, but they are not nurtured emotionally
or identified with on a personal level. Another important element in sociology,
which relates to behavioral psychology, is the idea of the “looking-glass
self”. The looking-glass self is simply the theory which states people
become who they are based on the
perceived reactions of others. These are the basics of sociology, all of which
form the sociological perspectives on suicide.
Since external
factors play a part in life itself, it follows that these factors would also be
influential to the taking of that life. Dublin ascertains suicide involves the
individual and society because external factors, which the individual cannot
control, affect the character and shape the life of the individual (v). He also
holds that groups, which have approved patterns of life, assert pressure on the
individual (Dublin v). An example of this pressure is discussed by Robert
Haughurst in his essay entitled “Suicide and Education.” Haughurst
states that the pressure schools place on students to achieve, coupled with the
lack of personal attention, can lead to suicide (53). This ties in with the way
most sociologists view suicide. They approach suicide by noting the collapse or
nonexistence of integral interpersonal bonds
or by seeing society as tending
toward depersonalization and disorganization. Dublin states suicide is much
less common among married people, especially those with children, than it is
among single or widowed individuals (27). He feels isolation from friends,
family, and socially accepted morals must all contribute to suicidal behavior
(54). Jack Douglas, author of The Social Meanings of Suicide, believes
the “social validation of self is an absolutely fundamental goal of human
beings” which is apparently lacking when humans become isolated from one
another (93). Another sociologist, Herbert Krauss, supports this belief. He
holds that interpersonal ties are crucial to one’s sense of “personal
and social meaning” and that disruption of such ties “spells
catastrophe for the individual” (47).
Finish
reading the Suicide Paper
If you wish to contact Valerie regarding her
paper, you may e-mail her here.
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