Social integration and suicide: a test of durkheim's theory

Behavior Science Research • Vol/Iss. 12 • Published In • Pages: 251-269 •
By Masumura, Wilfred T.

Hypothesis

Rates of suicide will be negatively associated with elaboration of ceremony and ritual (253, 261).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
tau-bNot Supportedp<.03.26UNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Ceremony And RitualIndependentRitual
SuicideDependentSuicide

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Gouldner, Alvin W.Findings: Factor A, "Apollonianism or Norm-Sending", has high positive loadings (oblimax rotation) for: elaboration of ceremony and ritual, organized priesthood, authority vested in judges, power vested in chief, government by restricted council, and attractiveness of future life. Highest negative loadings are for marriage by capture and domesticated animals other than herded.
Bowden, Edgar"Index of Sociocultural Development scores do in fact correlate with elaborateness of certain aspects of the aesthetic and ritual elements of culture" (1114)
McNett, Charles W., Jr."Community pattern (archaeologically defined) . . . can help predict [these] sociocultural traits: communal or private real estate, shared or hoarded goods, property at death destroyed or inherited, craftsmen, extent of trade, taxes, coercive power, kin-based community or larger, law, political hierarchy, army, religion or magic, ethical supernatural, complex supernatural, spirits or gods, shamans or priests, religious hierarchy, individual or common ritual, group ceremony frequency, simple...
Krauss, Herbert H."Whether a suicide case was considered IF [interpersonal frustration] of EF [extrapersonal frustration] was . . . independent of case length" (80)
Rudmin, Floyd WebsterCertain characteristics of societies will be significantly correlated in the same direction with both Simmons' (137) and Murdock's (1967) measures of private property ownership.