Year: 1979 Source: Social Forces, v.57, no.4, (1979), p.1081-1106 SIEC No: 19831837

Data from Durkheim’s work, from French census data (period 1886-1931), & from WHO data for 13 countries between 1956-62 are analyzed to assess the theory of W. Pope (Durkheim’s Suicide: A Classic Analyzed, 1976). While there are significant exceptions, there is strong empirical support for the theory. Marital-familial status, Durkheim’s most important independent variable, explains a large part of variance in suicide, but sex, which Durkheim treated in an ad hoc way, is even more important.