Criminology - Society and Deviance - Coursework Example

SOCIETY AND DEVIANCE Suicide in Australia 1. Introduction Suicide is a timeless concern. It leaves families, intimates, and friends of the victim distressed and often instigates a protracted sense of hopelessness. Suicide has become such a realistic problem that it is now an everyday concern. No society ignores or support suicide as an indiscriminate practice. It leaves us with a feeling that we as a society in some way have neglected the person who performed suicide, suggesting that we should have recognized what the person was thinking and taken action to lend a hand. This paper will talk about suicide as the leading cause of death particularly in young people living in Australia. It will present the different aspect of suicide including caused and prevention. 2. Suicide in Australia Suicide is the most extreme act an adolescent can carry out, Young people considering suicide have achieved such a level of extreme anxiety and emotional desolation that total escape seems are seriously shaded by the intricacies of the tribulations they stumbled upon. According to Bahr and Pendergast (2007, p.163), the consequences from suicide is significantly bigger than the regrettable one who dies, it affects all who have been a part of their lives and can leave a permanent blemish on the lives of their friends. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that there were 1,799 deaths from suicide or intentional self-harm which represents 1.4% of all registered deaths and 23% of all external causes of death in 2006. More than triple as many males as females died from international self-harm in the same year, continuing of the 10 years since 1997 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, p.40). 2.1 Suicide as a Social and Individual Phenomenon In analyzing the statement, “The insider’s view is that criminal, violent and destructive behavior is a matter of choice, of decisions made by the individual involved in making ‘poor choices’. Yet, the outsider’s view is that there is regularity to behavior, standards and expectations, influences and realities that both shape and define behavior and ‘criminal’ acts.”, we can use the works of Durkheim to determine the veracity of such statement. Sociologist and educator Emile Durkheim approach to crime and suicide shows how sociology can push us into a dimension that goes well beyond our coherent knowledge and comprehension. Jureidini and Poole (2003, p.26) explains that his work suggests that the common view of criminal actions is that they are atypical and necessitate castigation. Sociologically on the other hand, it may be argued that crime is both normal and essential. Crime is ‘normal’ because if we examine all societies, past and present, we constantly encounter criminal or deviant behavior that are linked with various type of chastisement or restriction. Crime is essential because any manner that we characterized as punishable also serves to define the limitations of what is tolerable and objectionable behavior, and that such borderline characterization is essential to social order. More importantly, Durkheim insinuates that the widespread perception of suicide as an exclusively individual act is not what it seems. In one of his celebrated studies in sociology, Durkheim shows that suicide is a social as well as an individual phenomenon, because if we examine the general features of people who committed suicide we will discover that the higher rates of suicide occur where individuals are less ‘integrated’ into society. In Durkheim’s famous work Suicide that was originally published in 1897, social plays an influential role in a person’s behavior. The pattern of behavior according to his study can be resolve by studying the rate of suicide according to various characteristics, such as age, sex, marital status and religion (Jureidini and Poole 2003, p.32). Durkheim used the notion of social solidarity where individuals are more probable to resort to suicide if they fail to assimilate well into society in some way. This means the higher the level of social integration, the less chance an individual will attempt suicide. Similarly, a person with intense social ties is less likely to commit suicide. He also describes the equilibrium of society as part of the theoretical framework for studying suicide in two dimensions. The first one was ‘social integration’ or the extent to which individuals have a sense of belonging to the collective. The second was that of ‘social regulation’ or the degree to which the actions and wishes of persons are ‘constrained’ by ethical values. Two forms of suicide also exist in the level of social integration, egoistic and altruistic. Egoistic suicide indicates extreme individualism, the collapse of ethical limitations, social structure, and excessive social change consequential to a person having sense of worthlessness in their lives (Jureidini and Poole 2003, p.33). In contrast, selfless suicide is the result of excessive integration where independence of the individual self determined by a dominant aspiration of something external. Egoism can best be described as the progression by which persons separate themselves from the wider society by turning their action inward and by withdrawing into themselves. It is distinguished by extreme self-reflection on private matters and an alienation from the outside world (Morrison 2006, p.207). In contrast, altruism is the dedication of a person to the advantage of others thus altruistic suicide takes place when standard firmly administered activities, so individual actions are often in the collective’s benefits. For instance, when soldiers intentionally give up their lives to defend members of the unit, they commit altruistic suicide out of a profound sense of solidarity (Brym and Lie p.4). According to Gane (1992, p.114), there are two pairs of dichotomies that can be elaborated. At the level of moral integration, anomic against altruism, and at the level of social integration, egoism against fatalism. The modern suicide is egoistic-anomic, which rise with civilization. The principal forms of suicide in fragmented societies mirror the usually inferior value of a person’s life and the particular structure of social subordination. Anomic suicide occurs out of conditions of ethical uncertainties and scarcity of ethical guidelines. Rapid descent of material conditions lead to misapprehension that suicide is only a product of deteriorating standard of life. In reality, Durkheim argues, extremely good conditions in life has similar outcome. That is an excessively swift transformation in the moral symmetry. 2.2 Suicide and Socioeconomic Status Many argues that suicide is a product of a person’s social perspective. A dynamic aspect in individual outcomes according to Boyd (2005, p.864), is the person’s socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic influence the physical structures that bordered an individual and the social structures that are accessible to him. Significant data exist to defend this model of suicide. In a study of Cohen et. al. (2003) as cited by Boyd (2005) reveals that the percentage of boarded up buildings in a neighborhood was positively linked with suicide. Socioeconomic scarcity and idleness were found to be linked with suicide in a number of studies. The danger of suicide doubled in the out of work when evaluated against those employed, white-collar workers. 2.3 Suicide and the Community “Suicide is central human problem and is probably the most personal act anyone can perform” (Retterstol 1993, p.10). According to this author, suicide affects the sole individual who took his life, it distresses his immediate circle and it affects the local and the wider community. Only accidents and cancers exceed suicide in statistical significance as a cause of death in younger age groups. The sizeable numbers of sudden deaths, which result from suicide recurrently, give rise to widowing, orphaning, and economic shortfall. Those who bereaved because of suicide often have to deal with social and financial problems of a predominantly exhausting type. The prevention of suicide is therefore an important medical and social challenge (Barraclough and Hughes 1987, p. 1). Whether as a basis for identity in a deviant peer culture or as an expression of isolated eccentricity and depleted self-esteem, abnormal behaviors such as suicide may then become more common. This may be linked with growing social infection effects, where young persons exposed to peer suicide or suicide attempts are more prone to engage in such behavior. Since social imitation of suicide seems stronger in the teenage years than in childhood or adulthood, most probably because of the greater need for consistency, the “effects of peer suicide are likely to have an especially large ripple effect for adolescents” (Feldman 1996, p.93). 2.4 Suicide and Young People in Australia Suicide in Australia was illegal. However, the insight that it is quite illogical to castigate somebody for trying live his own life and values, but also to terminate his life in unity with his own ideas about how to die with dignity, has led to the legalization of suicide in all states of the Australian Commonwealth. This is with the remarkable exception of the Northern Territory, where suicide remains illegal (Schuklenk 1998, p.10). In Australia, as in other countries, suicide is a leading cause of death from injury among young people. Australian data shows the rate of youth suicide among indigenous people is 6-7 times higher than non-indigenous people (Murray 2006, p.195). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006, p.7), out of the 1,799 deaths to intentional self-harm, 1,398 or 78% were of males and 401 or 22% were of females. The age-standardized suicide rate in 2006 was 13.6 per 100,000 males, 3.8 per 100,000 females and 8.6 per 100,000 people. Moreover, the median age at death for intentional self-harm was 43.9 years while media age at death for males was 43.6 years, compared with 45.1 years for females. 2.5 Suicide Prevention Preventing suicide is a difficult task but having some programs for suicide awareness and prevention might help reduce fatalities. Particularly for adolescent, educators play a significant role in prevention as they spend considerable time with young people. An essential step is to conduct in-service programs to help teachers understand causes, warning signs, myths, and suggestions on what to do if they are worried about one of their students. Because nine out ten suicide attempts take place at home, parents need to be aware of basic information relative to adolescent suicide. The most effective suicide prevention technique parents can exercise is to maintain open line of communication with their children. Parents also need to know the warning signs of suicide. Parents can lower the risk of teenage suicide by teaching their children some lessons about life during the child’s early years. Research indicates that adolescents would first turn a friend to discuss suicidal thoughts. Friends were chosen as confidants over the choices of parents, other adults, teachers, school counselors, school nurses, or clergy. With this in mind, it becomes apparent that although school staffs need to become experienced in suicide prevention, similarly important is to teach students facts about suicide (Capuzzi and Golden, 1988, p.254). In a wider scope, Sadock et. al. (2007, p.905) suggests a framework for suicide prevention. It must be designed to encourage and empower groups and individuals to work together. The stronger and extensive the support and collaboration on suicide prevention, the greater the chance of success for the group. Suicide and desperate behaviors can be reduced as the general public gains more knowledge about the degree to which suicide is a problem. Appreciating the ways in which it can be prevented and the roles individuals and groups can play in prevention efforts. 3. Conclusion Undoubtedly, suicide is the most extreme act an adolescent can execute. Suicide touches all particularly those who were left behind. The death of 1,799 people in 2006 alone because of intentional self-harm in Australia exposed the complexity of the problem. Because society plays a determining role in a person’s behavior, the pattern of behavior can be determined by looking at the rate of suicide according to different characteristics, such as age, sex, marital status, and religion. Out of the total number of suicide deaths in Australia in 2006, 78% were males and 22% were females. More importantly, the age-standardized suicide rate was 13.6 for males compared to 3.8 per 100, 000 females. Suicide is therefore a central human problem as affects not only the individual who took his life but the person’s immediate circle and wider community. More importantly, those bereaved of suicide frequently suffers social and financial difficulties of an intensely exhausting kind. Preventing suicide is a complex task but awareness and prevention can help reduce fatalities. 4. 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