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Suicidology: a Study of Suicide Trends and Theories 1950-1964

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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1969 Suicidology: A study of suicide trends and theories 1950-1964 Rodney Craig Metzger The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Metzger, Rodney Craig, "Suicidology: A study of suicide trends and theories 1950-1964" (1969). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 8734. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/8734 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SUICIDOLOGY: A STUDY OF SUICIDE TRENDS AND THEORIES 1950 - 1964 by Rodney C. Metzger B.A., University of Montana, 1966 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1969 Approved by: Chaarman, Board of Examiners an Graduate School April 22, 1969 Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: EP39535 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT OisMTtation PuWiahmg UMI EP39535 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the encouragement and concern of many people in the com­ munity of Missoula, Montana this work would not have been attempted, much less completed. Though most of them remain anonymous, I extend my sincere thanks to each and every one, I acknowledge the guidance of my many friends in all that is found to be good; and willingly I claim all weaknesses that are found here. I am grateful for the valued assistance of my thesis committee: Dr. Idris Evans, Dr. Dee Taylor, and Dr. Gordon Browder— who was also my thesis advisor; as well as Dr. Robert Dwyer, my advisor in undergraduate school. To my colleagues Robert Gough and Curtis Schwaderer, and my typist Betty Solberg, a since word of appreciation is extended. I offer a most sincere expression of gratitude for the assistance, encouragement, and counsel of my special friends Phyllis Bag^ey and Gene Hochhalter, who took me far beyond that which I believed were my limits. To my parents Edwin and Meta, and the rest of our family— Karen, Iris, Jon, and Todd— I am indebted beyond all measure. Together we have shared in both the better and worse, and now as a family each deserves to share in the honor bestowed upon the completion of this task. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. METHODOLOGY AND PURPOSE ............................ 1 Introduction to S t u d y ....................................... 1 Definition of Suicide ....................................... 2 Purpose and Assumptions ..................................... 3 Methodology .................................................. 4 II. HISTORY OF SUICIDE.............................................. 8 Those Who Chose Suicide ..................................... 9 Historical Background ....................................... 12 Suicide Among Primitive Societies .......................... 12 Suicide in Oriental Societies .............................. 16 Suicide in the Greek and Roman Societies.................... 19 Suicide and the Attitude of the Christian Church........... 21 111. MAJOR SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO SUICIDE...................... 23 Durkheim's Suicide............................................ 23 Cavan's Ecological Theory of Suicide........................ 39 Gibbs' and Martin's Status Integration Theory of Suicide................. 44 Henry's and Short's Theory of Suicide ...................... 47 Gold's Approach to Suicide................................... 52 Conclusion.................................................... 55 IV. PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES RELEVANT TO SUICIDE.................... 57 V. SUICIDE TRENDS 1950-1964........................................ 64 Introduction.................................................. 64 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER PAGE Trends and Rates............................................ 66 Implications and Conclusions.............................. 73 VI. THE USE AND VALIDITY OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION................................... 76 VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION....................................... 82 Conclusion.................................................. 82 Recommendations for Further Study ........................ 83 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................... 85 APPENDIXES........................................................... 88 A. Sources of Official Statistical and Demographic Information....................................... 89 B. Research Instruments............................... 90 C. Demographic Information ............................... 95 U.S. Suicide Characteristics (Age and Sex).... 96 Montana Suicide Characteristics (Age and Sex) .. 97 U.S. Suicide Characteristics (non-white/white). 98 Montana Suicide Characteristics (non-white/white) . 99 Total Suicide Rate by A g e ..................... 100 Total U.S. Suicide Rate by Age and Color. 101 Total Montana Suicide Rate by Age and Color .... 102 Total U.S. Suicide Rate by Age,Sex,and Color. 103 Total Montana Suicide Rate by Age,Sex,and Color . 104 D. Recommended Reading List........... 105 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Population Characteristics..................................... 65 2. Total Suicide Rate by Sex and A g e ............................ 70 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES TABLE PAGE 1. TotalTotal Age-Adjusted Suicide Rates by Color..................... 67 2. Total iiicide Rates by A g e ..................................... 68 3. TotalTotal Age-Adjusted Suicide Rates by Color and S e x ........... 72 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I METHODOLOGY AND PURPOSE Introduction to Study The theoretical treatment of suicide is one of the classical subjects in sociology, and theory relevant to suicide has been of para­ mount importance in the establishment of sociology as an independent academic discipline. In addition to sociologists, the act of suicide is studied by a variety of scholars and viewed from numerous perspect­ ives, particularly in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. The study of suicide is one of the very few cases in which sociology has achieved long-ranged continuity in research and theory. This continuity is all the more important because it commenced with Durkheim* s impressive work and clearly reflects his impact on sociology. Accordingly, if progress in science is achieved primarily through continuity in theory and research, then the allocation of even more resources to the study of suicide is justified,^ It is important to note that even to this day, Emile Durkheim's 2 work on the subject. Le Suicide, dominates— with only a few except­ ions— the sociological works relevant to suicide, and much of the sociological methodology. At this point one might apply the "great man" theory of history as Gibbs did: ^Jack P. Gibbs, Suicide (New York: Harper and Row, 1964), p. vii, ^mile Durkheim, Le Suicide. trans. J, A. Spaulding and G. Simpson (eighth edition; New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1965). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Many sociologists study suicide in the intellectual footsteps of the great French sociologist Emile Durkehim. The Impression is that had Durkheim investigated stuttering instead of suicide, sociologists would have followed this lead no less diligently. Aside from Durkheim's historical prominence, one must pay partic­ ular attention to his most famous work (Le Suicide) in reference to his sociological explanations of social phenomena, ^hus sociologists study suicide not only because so many of them are disciples of Durkheim but also because they share Durkheim's motivation— to demonstrate the effi- 4 ciency and pervasiveness of social causation. It is within this general context that this research is conducted. Definition of Suicide It is important to this study that both a common and an operational definition
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