Question

Q1.During class we discussed some of Durkheim’s findings; here is your chance to apply those ideas to a current situation. The Federal Government released the following data in late 2016: “The suicide rate among U.S. middle school students (defined as between 10-14 years old – tom’s note) doubled from 2007 to 2014, surpassing for the first time the incidence of youngsters aged 10 to 14 who died in car crashes … Those figures contrast sharply with figures from 1999, when the rate of middle school students killed in car crashes, was four times higher than the rate among those who died from suicide that year.” A researcher involved in analyzing the data stated: “In time we might uncover somFor this question, you are to become Durkheim and explain why we see each of these results. Remember to focus on the idea of social bonds. Which of Durkheim’s 4 types of suicide is represented by this data? Explain your choices.e reasons…”

(Answer need to be in Soft copy Only)

Answer 1

Emile Durkheim explains 4 types of suicides as Egoistic, Fatalistic, Anomic and Altruistic. Egoistic suicide where people, especially the elderly feel detached from the society because they have go no role to actively play in the society. Fatalistic suicide refers to the suicide that’s committed by people who are oppressed and suppressed by others in the society. Anomic suicide refers to people who are morally lost, those who do not find any purpose in living and those who do not have anyone to guide them. Finally altruistic suicide refers to people who commit suicide for the wellbeing of others or for a greater cause such as soldiers, suicide bombers and cults etc.

School children committing suicide in the age of 10-14 falls in the third type which is anomic suicide where they lose their self-confidence and esteem because of various reasons such as academic pressure, physical appearance, social status, peer pressure etc. They also do not have enough people in the school and home to counsel and guide them when they are down. This forces them to a corner where they want to escape from the reality thus committing suicide.