The Suicide Problem in Sociology

Abstract

Although it was noted in the previous chapter that sociological studies of suicide represent only a very small proportion of the mass of available literature on the subject, no attempt is made in the present work to provide a complete survey even of this small number of studies by sociologists. One reason for not doing this is that several such reviews are already available (e.g. in Douglas, 1967; Gibbs, 1966; Porterfield, 1968; Labowitz, 1968; Martin, 1968; Rushing, 1968; Maris, 1969), and there would seem little point in trying to add to or to compete with the extended treatments to which they have already been subjected. A further reason for avoiding the total literature review is that they tend to give the impression that researching the subject of suicide has been an important activity for sociology and that reports on such work that has been done are of interest to sociologists in some general way. The main theme of this chapter, however, is that such impressions are false and that sociological interest in suicide is best characterized as ‘fascination from a distance’. The paradox is that it has been discussed by most major theorists, methodologists and textbook writers, it has to be confronted at one time or another (and often many times more than once) by almost all sociology students, and yet very few sociologists since Durkheim have become actively involved in suicide research.