altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic. Perhaps the most prevalent form in the United States is egoistic. Egoistic is explained as the result of too little social integration. An example, would be the suicide of a retired elderly widow. The second, altruistic is the consequence of excessive integration. Such as the death of a Japanese kamikaze pilot during World War II or the act of self-sacrifice upon finding out that a leader or chief is dead. Altruistic is when an individual strips himself or herself of their well being for another cause or to feel a part of something. The third ideal type is anomic, which results from too little regulation or the shattering of one’s ties with society. A good example would be such as when an individual goes through a divorce or an individual suddenly finds himself or herself unemployed. Fatalistic is the fourth ideal type. This form is the result of excessive regulation coupled with high personal needs for an individual to control his or her environment. An example of this would be such as when a straight A college student fails an exams and upon doing so, takes his own life (Spalding & Simpson, 1951). So what is the conclusion in understanding why individuals take their own lives? In 1996, Margaux Hemingway committed suicide with an overdose of sedatives. This brought back memories of other suicides in her family such as her grandfather, his brother, his sister and his father. Could the answer be genetic? Do people inherit certain vulnerabilities toward depression that results in death by suicide? Or does this story indicate an intergenerational socialization pattern, by which committing suicide is an acceptable way of addressing a problem learned by an acceptable family way. What if certain personality types are more predisposed? However, historical and anthropological studies show how different cultures seem to produce distinctive spectrums of personality types and that these t...
