Durkheim’s theory of suicide is relevant today in explaining the problem of veterans’ suicide. The theory suggests that social factors are the main cause of suicide among veterans, and it is especially noticeable in our society today.
Suicide can be defined as: “an act performed advisedly, where the agent knows that death will be the result of his act, regardless of whether or not death is the goal” (Jones, 1986, p. 82-114). Durkheim’s definition was: “Suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result” (Durkheim, 1897). In his theory of suicide Durkheim studied the rates of suicide among Catholics and Protestants, stating …show more content…
More and more war veterans decide to take their own life after returning from the war or after retirement. Studies have been conducted to find out the reasons of such high rates of veterans’ suicide and trying to find a way to prevent it. Although only 4.5 percent of men ages 18-34 are veterans, veterans account for 10.8 percent of suicides in that age group, according to statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The numbers are based on death data collected by the VA from 21 states. A similar pattern exists for the men ages 35-54, 21.7 percent of that group’s suicides are by veterans, who make up only 13.9 percent of the group. The disproportionate pattern goes away for older male veterans, the data shows (Zoroya, 2013). Data show that the highest rate of attempted suicides is among veterans younger than 30. The reports showed that the worst year of military suicides was 2012, recording 349 deaths. The statistics show that the largest number of suicides among veterans occur among the older generations that make up the vast majority of the nations’ 22 million former service members (Zoroya, 2013). The VA estimated that veterans die by suicide at the rate of about 22 per day.
Miller conducted a study to find out whether the rate of suicide among American veterans is elevated. He based his study on veterans’ age more than the factors, and found out that it does play a significant role in suicide rate. The data collected revealed that there was a strong age-by-veteran status interaction in terms of suicide, with veterans of recent military actions being at much higher relative and absolute risk of suicide than veterans of less recent wars or conflicts (Gibbons, Brown, Hur,
Suicide can be defined as: “an act performed advisedly, where the agent knows that death will be the result of his act, regardless of whether or not death is the goal” (Jones, 1986, p. 82-114). Durkheim’s definition was: “Suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result” (Durkheim, 1897). In his theory of suicide Durkheim studied the rates of suicide among Catholics and Protestants, stating …show more content…
More and more war veterans decide to take their own life after returning from the war or after retirement. Studies have been conducted to find out the reasons of such high rates of veterans’ suicide and trying to find a way to prevent it. Although only 4.5 percent of men ages 18-34 are veterans, veterans account for 10.8 percent of suicides in that age group, according to statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The numbers are based on death data collected by the VA from 21 states. A similar pattern exists for the men ages 35-54, 21.7 percent of that group’s suicides are by veterans, who make up only 13.9 percent of the group. The disproportionate pattern goes away for older male veterans, the data shows (Zoroya, 2013). Data show that the highest rate of attempted suicides is among veterans younger than 30. The reports showed that the worst year of military suicides was 2012, recording 349 deaths. The statistics show that the largest number of suicides among veterans occur among the older generations that make up the vast majority of the nations’ 22 million former service members (Zoroya, 2013). The VA estimated that veterans die by suicide at the rate of about 22 per day.
Miller conducted a study to find out whether the rate of suicide among American veterans is elevated. He based his study on veterans’ age more than the factors, and found out that it does play a significant role in suicide rate. The data collected revealed that there was a strong age-by-veteran status interaction in terms of suicide, with veterans of recent military actions being at much higher relative and absolute risk of suicide than veterans of less recent wars or conflicts (Gibbons, Brown, Hur,