Durkheim argued that suicide is largely a social
phenomenon. He did not deny vulnerability of individuals due to what
would now be called mental disorder, as is commonly stated. He found
that the regulation and support provided by society to the individual
(these could be too little or too much) were the key to suicide. He
described egoistic, anomic, altruistic and fatalistic forms of suicides.
These ideas are assessed and supplemented with current research.
Bullying and the influence modern communication systems have on
suicide are mentioned, and examples from the public record are
detailed.
