However, as other studies have shown, Durkheim’s conceptualization of suicide and the interpretation of the data were framed by his own biases and by those of his early 20th century contemporaries. He viewed social integration as a protective strategy against these modernizing forces. 8 His claims about suicide among women and suicide in the military are emblematic of his assertion that increasing modernization and urbanization led to the breakdown of social cohesion. Dismissing altruistic and fatalistic suicide as unimportant, he viewed egoistic suicide as a consequence of the deterioration of social and familial bonds and linked anomic suicide to disillusionment and disappointment. 5 – 8ĭurkheim distinguished between egoistic, anomic, altruistic, and fatalistic suicide, broad classifications that reflect then-prevailing theories of human behavior. 3, 4 Durkheim tied modern urban life to declining birth rates, increasing alienation, and exacerbated gender role tensions, which, he believed, had negative health consequences, evidenced by increased suicide rates. 1, 2 We examined the extent to which Durkheim’s claims about the link between social disintegration and suicide have lent support to current assumptions that social capital is a protective factor in population health. As a result, the work of the same theorist is often used to support contradictory arguments. Kunitz 1 showed that classic theory is most often cited to authenticate a current assertion rather than to test the validity of a public health maxim. PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOLARSHIP often cites classic social theorists to demonstrate the link between social capital-the collective civic value of social networks-and population health.
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