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II. Suicide and Social Integration A pilot study of the integration levels in Norway and Denmark
Author(s) -
BilleBrahe Unni
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1987.tb10800.x
Subject(s) - norwegian , danish , social integration , psychology , demography , suicide rates , significant difference , suicide prevention , poison control , sociology , medicine , environmental health , political science , law , philosophy , linguistics
A model for comparison of levels of social integration in each of theNordic countries was developed from Durkheim's theories and then tested on Norwegian and Danish data to determine whether the difference in the frequency of suicide between Norway and Denmark could be “explained” by a corresponding difference in degree of social integration. The results confirmed Durkheim's theory in that the general level of social integration was found to be considerably lower inDenmark than in Norway. Danish middleaged women, whose rate of suicide is more than three times that of their Norwegian counterparts, were expecially poorly integrated by comparison. Furthermore, the level of integration among young Norwegian men was found to be in marked decline and their suicide rate on the increase. The necessity of testing and refining the method is stressed.