European Sociological Review Advance Access originally published online on July 9, 2007
European Sociological Review 2007 23(4):521-535; doi:10.1093/esr/jcm020
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When Anomie Becomes a Reason for Suicide: A New Macro-sociological Approach in the Durkheimian Tradition
Peter Graeff (to whom correspondence should be addressed), Technische Universität Dresden, Institute for Sociology, Department of Macrosociology, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
Guido Mehlkop, Dresden University of Technology, Institute for Sociology, Department of Macrosociology, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
Correspondence: Email: peter.graeff{at}tu-dresden.de
Durkheim's theory of suicide was among the first attempts within sociology to combine theoretical and empirical approaches. Empirical evidence has not yet produced cohesive results. In our opinion, this is due to inappropriate operationalization in previous studies. According to Durkheim's theory, ‘normal’ country-specific suicide levels and pathological suicide rates are different, and only the latter is really of sociological interest, as they are the result of Anomie. Our new empirical approach shows that country-specific suicide levels can be explained by particular living conditions that cannot be regarded as social phenomena (such as climatic conditions). In contrast, deviations from suicide levels over time are determined by social circumstances referring to Anomie.
Manuscript received: September 1, 2006.