A Comparative Analysis of Durkheim's Theory of Egoistic Suicide

Abstract

This paper reports a comparative cross-national test of Durkheim's theory of egoistic suicide, involving indicators of religious, family, and political integration. Linear and nonlinear multiple regression analysis showed that the relationships between religious integration and suicide and between political integration and suicide are inverse exponential functions of the form Y = aebx, while the relationship between family integration and suicide is linear. The relationships between the independent and dependent variables are strong and highly significant. Together, our indicators of religious, family, and political integration explain about 76 percent of the variation in international rates of suicide.Durkheim's theory of suicide has seldom been subjected to rigorous empirical test, and only a few attempts have been made to test the theory with international data-most research has been based on single-nation samples such as census tracts. In addition, the recent comparative work that has been done centers primarily on Durkheim's theory of anomie and independent variables such as rate of economic growth, urbanity, and industrialization (Krohn, 1978; Stack, 1978). In contrast, recent noncomparative research on Durkheim's theory of suicide has focused on Durkheim's integration variables (Danigelis and Pope, 1979;Marshall, 1981;Stark et al., 1981). Comparative work on Durkheim's theory of suicide that employs indicators of social integration is virtually nonexistent. In the present paper we test Durkheim's theory of egoistic suicide with international rates of suicide and indicators of religious, family, and political integration for forty-two countries. TheoryDurkheim's Suicide presents a theory specifying four types of suicide according to the nature of social causes in them: egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic. Durkheim employed two explanatory variables, integration and regulation, such that in social circumstances in which integration is low, egoistic suicide results; when integration is high, altruistic suicide results; when regulation is low, anomic suicide results; and when regulation is high, fatalistic suicide results. We concentrate on Durkheim's theory of social integration, and in particular the theory of egoistic suicide. We ignore Durkheim's theory of regulation, and within the theory of integration, altruistic suicide. Durkheim argues that altruistic suicide obtains in primitive societies and the military. This part of his integration theory is not amenable to comparative test. In addition, we exclude the theory of regulation, 01982 by The Sociological Quarterly. All rights reserved. 0038-0253/82/1400-0321$00. 75 The authors acknowledge H. M. Blalock and Rodney Stark for helpful advice and encouragement. Thanks are also extended to Kevin Welch for computer assistance. K. D. Breault's address is Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637.

The Effect of Religious Commitment on Suicide: A Cross-National Analysis

“…In contrast, religiosity levels of those under age 30 fell by nearly 50 percent over the same period. Unlike the recent study on religion and suicide by Breault and Barkey (1982), the present inquiry will analyze age and sex specific suicide rates.…”

Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Predictors of Suicidal Behaviors: A Prospective Study of African Americans

“…Religious affiliation and suicide are also related (Breault & Barkey, 1982;Stack, 1983). The rationale, according to Durkheim, is that religious groups high in integration (Jews and Catholics) have lower suicide rates than those low in integration (Protestants).…”

Religion, Senescence, and Mental Health: The End of Life Is Not the End of Hope

“…Breault and Barkey found religious integration to be a significant predictor of lower suicide rates in a way that is independent of the comparably significant predictors of political and family integration. 80 On the other hand, Bainbridge 81 found that the association between religious involvement and suicide became nonsignificant when measures of social integration were added to the multivariate regression models.…”