Attempted suicide in Denmark. II. Social integration.

Abstract

Using Durkheim's theories on the inverse correlation between suicide and social integration, analyses were made of the level of social integration among suicide attempters in comparison with that of the normal population. Ninety-nine randomly chosen patients, who had been admitted to the Department of Psychiatry, Odense University Hospital due to suicide attempts, were interviewed as to their relationship with their close environment (family, friends, neighbours), to their work environment and to the community as such. The results showed that those attempting suicide could be characterized as having inadequate contacts in all three arenas. The level of social integration was significantly lower among the suicide attempters than in the population generally, thus confirming that Durkheim's theories on suicide are also valid for explaining the incidence of suicide attempts.