c in sociology as well as suicidology" (Holinger, 1994, p. 185).
Durkheim appeared to view society and its impact in at least two different ways. The first was in terms of delineated groups (e.g., religions), and one of his categories of suicide, "altruistic suicide," involved this concept. It consisted of taking one's own life because of greater integration of the individual into society (e.g., religious affiliation or unthinking political alliance). Two of Durkheim's other categories of suicide, "egoistic suicide" and "anomic suicide," demonstrate the concept of social forces driving suicide rates. It is important to note that he did not attempt to detail on an individual level how this may occur; instead, he concentrated on the macro-social forces that drive a person to suicide. In essence, he theorized that suicide rates are high in times of economic stress because the social cohesion of the group is broken down.
Durkheim's theory describes how macro changes in social structures can have devastating effects at the macro level. Indeed, "the correspondence between his anomie theory (that people can succumb to a condition of normlessness, one of no social ties or restraining forces) and control theory is apparent: the sheer size and disorganization of big cities reduce the average person's attachments and beliefs. Thus, free to deviate (from societal norms), people will do so. To support his theory, Durkheim used public statistics to demonstrate that suicide rates were much higher in urban areas and in areas where a variety of Protestant faiths existed than in rural areas and places that remained solidly Catholic. Durkheim based his hypothesis on his belief that while a single religion unites traditional communities, many competing religions flourish in cities, and each religion weakens the others. Thus, he concluded that cities would destroy the power of societies to control their members and therefore become locati...