Suicide is a significantly prominent problem for healthcare system in the United States. This problem may be impacted by different factors like economic, social, individual etc. some researchers assert that suicide may be related to socio-economic factors. People from lower a social class encounter more social problems than those in a higher social class. This research investigates the connection between social class status and suicide characteristics.
According to Kishi, Robinson and Kosier (387), social as well as economic pressures contribute top suicide. They assert that unemployment may lead to pressures that have often undeniably led to suicide or suicide attempts.
Buglass (110) adds to the list of social problems and risks that people in low social classes are exposed to. He cites population density, financial problems, crime and violence as according more attention to the link between health issues (such as suicide) and social inequality.
Durkheim (1897) suggests that some uniquely individualistic phenomena like suicide are usually substantially shaped by various social factors. His research majored on the premise that family structure, military service, changes in class and religion are foundations for contexts that shape social significance outcomes.
Denney, Rogers, and Wadsworth (1168), hold that while research methods have always found a link between broad social disruption patterns and community outcomes such as suicide rates, they have failed to determine whether the social disruption is related to individual-level risk of suicide. This is because to believe that geographical factors contribute to individual processes is to fall prey to ecological fallacy.
Stack (1020), provides research which links education levels with suicide risk. His research is based on individual-level data, which reveals that every year spent in an educational institution considerably reduced suicide risk in non-Hispanic whites in America.
The research questions are:
- Is there is a risk between social status and the level of suicide risk in America?
- Which social problems have the closest relationship to suicide risk?
The independent variables are “social class” and age. This may be broken down to smaller components such as socio-economic factors, unemployment, poverty and family friction.
The dependent variable is “number of suicide deaths”
The study mainly uses a quantitative approach. This means that numerical data will be collected and analyzed using statistical means. The data on suicides for a period of 5 years in the United States will be obtained from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). This data will then be categorized into age and social class. Statistical procedures and software (SPSS) will be applied in analyzing the data based on the age groupings and social class. The results will also be represented in graphical illustrations for a visual presentation of results. The analysis of data will be an attempt to find out whether there is a correlation between the number of suicides to the social class.
The aim of this study is to find out whether there is a relationship between social class and the suicide in America. This research provides background information through a review of literature such as Denney, Rogers, and Wadsworth (1168) and Buglass (110). This review provides a context for an investigative analysis of data from the NVSS. The study analyses mortality data to find out whether social status contributes to suicide risk. The data is then analyzed statistically using the SPSS software and represented in graphs.
Work Cited
Buglass, Dorothy. "The Relation Of Social Class To The Characteristics And Treatment Of Parasuicide." Social Psychiatry 11.3 (1976): 107-119. Print.
Denney, Justin T., Richard G. Rogers, Patrick M. Krueger, and Tim Wadsworth. "Adult Suicide Mortality In The United States: Marital Status, Family Size, Socioeconomic Status, And Differences By Sex." Social Science Quarterly 90.5 (2009): 1167-1185. Print.
Kishi , Y, , JT. Kosier , and RG, Robinson . "Suicidal Ideation for Patients with Life-threatening Physical Illness: Patients with Stroke, Myocardial Infection Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury." Psychosomatics 14.2 (2001): 382–390. Print.
Schutt RK, Rierdan J, Meschede T. Suicidal Thoughts, Distress, and Social Support among Homeless Adults. Journal of Health and Social Sciences. 35.1 (1994) :134–142.
Stack Steven, Wasserman Ira. Marital Status, Alcohol and Suicide: Analysis of National Data. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 55.3 (1993):1018–24.
