Sex-Role Change, Anomie and Female Suicide: A Test of Alternative Durkheimian Explanations

In this study, American suicide rates & female/male suicide ratios from 1950 to 1984, as well as the ratios of female educational attainment, white female labor participation, white fertility rates & divorce rates were compared to Durkheim’s theories. General anomie is supported for middle-aged women, but not for the young or elderly. Conjugal anomie is best supported for those 15 to 44 when general anomie isn’t pronounced. General anomie may not be applicable to groups supporting social change.