Reading Durkheim con Galtung: Suicide and structural violence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21501/22161201.4960Keywords:
Suicide, Suicide attemped, Structural violence, Direct violence, Cultural violence, Discourse analysis, Marginalized populationAbstract
Introduction: This study aims to explore the relationship between suicide and structural violence, using a theoretical approach based on Johan Galtung’s theories on violence and the types of suicide of Émile Durkheim. Methodology: the study is situated within the interpretative paradigm, employing a qualitative, exploratory-level discourse analysis approach. Documentary analysis was used as the data collection technique. A total of 59 studies published in academic journals from different continents were reviewed. Results: Structural and cultural violence, deeply rooted in social and economic inequalities, following Galtung’s model, influence structural violence, which materializes in suicidal behaviors, especially among marginalized
populations. Conclusion: it is necessary to continue with the line of research that depathologizes suicide and shifts interest from clinical and individual determinations to social interactions and structural violence, in order to build an authentic interdisciplinary perspective that contributes to the understanding of suicide as a multidetermined phenomenon.
Downloads
References
Abrutyn, S., & Mueller, A. S. (2016). When too much integration and regulation hurts: Reenvisioning Durkheim’s altruistic suicide. Society and Mental Health, 6(1), 56-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869315604346
Abrutyn, S., & Mueller, A. S. (2018). Toward a cultural-structural theory of suicide: Examining excessive regulation and its discontents. Sociological Theory, 36(1), 48-66. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275118759150
Ager, W., Chammay, R. E., Lechner, J., Ventevogel, P., & Vijayakumar, L. (2021). Displaced, dispossessed and silenced: The need for suicide prevention and response for conflict-affected populations. Intervention, 19(2), 145-148. https://doi.org/10.4103/INTV.INTV_24_21
Allen, M. (2019). “Affect” and dislocation: Exhibiting the kamikaze in Japan and Pearl Harbor. En M. R. Frost, D. Schumacher & E. Vickers (eds.), Remembering Asia’s World War Two (pp. 228-246). Routledge.
Amiri, S. (2020). Prevalence of suicide in immigrants/refugees: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Suicide Research, 26(2), 370-405. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2020.1802379
Anderson, B. (2021). The structural violence of indigenous suicide prevention policies in Canada. Anthropology in Action, 28(3), 22-34. https://doi.org/10.3167/aia.2021.280303
Ando, M., & Furuichi, M. (2022). The association of COVID-19 employment shocks with suicide and safety net use: An early-stage investigation. PLoS ONE, 17(3), e0264829. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264829
Ansloos, J., & Peltier, S. (2021). A question of justice: Critically researching suicide with indigenous studies of affect, biosociality, and land-based relations. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 26(1), 100-119. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593211046845
Argento, E., Strathdee, S. A., Shoveller, J. A., Braschel, M., & Shannon, K. (2019). Correlates of suicidality among a community-based cohort of women sex workers: The protective effect of social cohesion. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19-20). https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519870167
Atreya, A., Shrestha, M., & Acharya, J. (2017). Inter-caste lovers’ suicide pact – Case report from Nepal. Medico-Legal Journal, 86(2), 103-106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0025817217730993
Azuero, A. J., Arreaza-Kaufman, D., Coriat, J., Tassinari, S., Faria, A., Castañeda-Cardona, C., & Rosselli, D. (2017). Suicide in the indigenous population of Latin America: A systematic review. Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría, 46(4), 237-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcp.2016.12.002
Basu, A., Boland, A., Witt, K., & Robinson, J. (2022). Suicidal behaviour, including ideation and self-harm, in young migrants: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8329. https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH19148329/S1
Bearman, P. S. (1991). The social structure of suicide. Sociological Forum, 6(3), 501-524. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01114474
Brennecke, G., Stoeber, F. S., Kettner, M., Keil, J., White, L., Vasilache, A., Von Klitzing, K., & Radeloff, D. (2020). Suicide among immigrants in Germany. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 435-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JAD.2020.05.038
Brenner, M. H., & Bhugra, D. (2020). Acceleration of anxiety, depression, and suicide: secondary effects of economic disruption related to COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 592467. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyt.2020.592467
Carmona, J. A. (2013). ¿Qué es lo psicosocial? Una urdimbre transdisciplinar con cinco madejas. Complejidad, 19, 37-45.
Carmona, J. A., Moreno, F. M., & Alvarado, C. F. (2021). Un diálogo sobre el suicidio: cine, psicoanálisis y psicología social. Manual Moderno.
Carmona-Parra, J. A., Cañón-Buitrago, S. C., & Pineda, J. (2021). Intento de suicidio, comportamientos temerarios y negligencias en el autocuidado en estudiantes universitarios. Archivos de Medicina (Manizales), 22(1), 73-81. https://doi.org/10.30554/archmed.22.1.4141.2022
CEPAL/OPS (2011). Salud de la población joven indígena en América Latina: un panorama general. Informe técnico LC/R.2171. Santiago de Chile: Naciones Unidas.
Cogoid, E., Murray, M., Villanueva, G., Hamel, C., Garnerid, P., Senior, S. L., & Henschkeid, N. (2022). Suicide rates and suicidal behaviour in displaced people: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 17(3), e0263797. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263797
Coleman, B. W. (2020). Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America. A Report to Congress from the Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health. Congressional Black Caucus. https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/imo/media/doc/full_taskforce_report.pdf
Colucci, E., San, L. T., & Minas, H. (2017). A suicide research agenda for people from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Death Studies, 41(8), 502-511. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2017.1332912
Donath, C., Bergmann, M. C., Kliem, S., Hillemacher, T., & Baier, D. (2019). Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background: A representative study. BMC Pediatrics, 19(45), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12887-019-1404-Z
Durkheim, É. (2018). El suicidio. Akal.
Else, I. R., Andrade, N. N., & Nahulu, L. B. (2007). Suicide and suicidal-related behaviors among indigenous Pacific islanders in the United States. Death Studies, 31(5), 479-501. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180701244595
Evans, M. (2016). Structural violence, socioeconomic rights, and transformative justice. Journal of Human Rights, 15(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2015.1032223
Farmer, P., Nizeye, B., Stulac, S., & Keshavjee, S. (2006). Structural violence and clinical medicine. PLOS Medicine, 3(10), 156-169. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PMED.0030449
Flynn, C., Damant, D., Lapierre, S., Lessard, G., Gagnon, C., Couturier, V., & Couturier, P. (2018). When structural violences create a context that facilitates sexual assault and intimate partner violence against street-involved young women. Women’s Studies International Forum, 68, 94-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WSIF.2018.01.004
Forte, A., Trobia, F., Gualtieri, F., Lamis, D. A., Cardamone, G., Giallonardo, V., Fiorillo, A., Girardi, P., & Pompili, M. (2018). Suicide risk among immigrants and ethnic minorities: A literature overview. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(7), 1438. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071438
Galtung, J. (1989). Violencia cultural. Gernika Gogoratuz. https://www.gernikagogoratuz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/doc-14-violencia-cultural.pdf
Graitl, L. (2009). “The dead do not lie”: die bedeutung des todes im politisch motivierten suizid im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert. Historical Social Research, 34(4), 286-297. https://doi.org/10.12759/HSR.34.2009.4.286-297
Guirao, J. A., Olmedo, A., & Ferrer, E. (2008). El artículo de revisión. Revista Iberoamericana de Enfermería Comunitaria, 1(1), 1-25. https://www.uv.es/joguigo/castellano/castellano/Investigacion_files/el_articulo_de_revision.pdf
Haase, E., Schönfelder, A., Nesterko, Y., & Glaesmer, H. (2022). Prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among refugees: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 22(635), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13029-8
Heard, T. R., McGill, K., Skehan, J., & Rose, B. (2022). The ripple effect, silence and powerlessness: Hidden barriers to discussing suicide in Australian aboriginal communities. BMC Psychology, 10(1), 1-14. https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-022-00724-9
Hong, Q. N., Pluye, P., Fàbregues, S., Bartlett, G., Boardman, F., Cargo, M., Dagenais, P., Gagnon, M., Griffiths, F., Nicolau, B., O’Cathain, A., Rousseau, M., & Veldel, I. (2019). Improving the content validity of the mixed methods appraisal tool: A modified e-Delphi study. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 107, 49-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.03.008
Jackson, B., & Sadler, L. S. (2022). Structural violence: An evolutionary concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(11), 3495-3516. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15341
Kirmayer, L. J. (2022). Suicide in cultural context: An ecosocial approach. Transcultural Psychiatry, 59(1), 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634615221076424
Köhler, G., & Alcock, N. (1976). An empirical table of structural violence. Journal of Peace Research, 13(4), 343-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/002234337601300405
Kuriala, G. K. (2021). Covid-19 and its impact on global mental health. Sensors International, 2, 100108. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SINTL.2021.100108
Lawrence, R. E., Brent, D., Mann, J. J., Burke, A. K., Grunebaum, M. F., Galfalvy, H. C., & Oquendo, M. A. (2016). Religion as a risk factor for suicide attempt and suicide ideation among depressed patients. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 204(11), 845-850. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000484
Lester, D. (1991). Totalitarianism and fatalistic suicide. Journal of Social Psychology, 131(1), 129-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1991.9713831
Lester, D., Saito, Y., & Park, B. C. (2011). Suicide among foreign residents of Japan. Psychological Reports, 108(1), 139-140. https://doi.org/10.2466/12.PR0.108.1.139-140
Lutter, M., Roex, K. L., & Tisch, D. (2019). Anomie or imitation? The Werther effect of celebrity suicides on suicide rates in 34 OECD countries, 1960-2014. Social Science & Medicine, 246, 112755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112755
Mamun, M. A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). First COVID-19 suicide case in Bangladesh due to fear of COVID-19 and xenophobia: Possible suicide prevention strategies. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 102073. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.AJP.2020.102073
Marroquín, A. R., Rincón, C. J., Padilla-Muñoz, A., & Gómez-Restrepo, C. (2020). Mental health in adolescents displaced by the armed conflict: Findings from the Colombian national mental health survey. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 14(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-020-00327-5
Montesinos, A. H., Heinz, A., Schouler-Ocak, M., & Aichberger, M. C. (2013). Precipitating and risk factors for suicidal behaviour among immigrant and ethnic minority women in Europe: A systematic review. Suicidology Online, 4, 60-80. http://www.suicidology-online.com/pdf/SOL-2013-4-60-80.pdf
Mori, S. (2017). The Japanese contribution to violence in the world: The kamikaze attacks in World War II. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 28(1), 40-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/0803706X.2017.1367841
Odabas, S., & Hartarska, V. (2021). Farmer suicides: Effects of socio-economic, climate, and mental health factors. Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, 24(2), 61-71. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34151778/
Organización Mundial de la Salud (2021, 17 de junio). Suicidio. https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide
Ozaki, N., Hill, J., & Duncan, M. (2020). The rhetoric of kamikaze manuals. Technical Communication, 67(3), 61-79. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27340162
Pace, R., Pluye, P., Barlett, G., Macaulay, A. C., Salsberg, J., Jagosh, J., & Seller, R. (2012). Testing the reliability and efficiency of the pilot Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for systematic mixed studies review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 49, 47-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2011.07.002
Poorolajal, J., Goudarzi, M., Gohari-Ensaf, F., & Darvishi, N. (2022). Relationship of religion with suicidal ideation, suicide plan, suicide attempt, and suicide death: A meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Health Sciences, 22(1), e00537. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9315464/
Pope, W. (1975). Concepts and explanatory structure in Durkheim’s theory of suicide. British Journal of Sociology, 26(4), 417-434. https://doi.org/10.2307/589820
Posada, I. C., & Carmona-Parra, J. C. (2018). Subjetividad política y ciudadanía de la mujer en contextos de conflictos armados. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, 63(233), 69-92. https://doi.org/10.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2018.233.57835
Rassenhofer, M., Caffaro, J., Yates, P., Carretier, E., Lachal, J., Franzoni, N., Guessoum, S. B., & Moro, M. R. (2022). Disclosure of sibling sexual abuse by hospitalized adolescent girls: Three case reports. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 25(12), 792012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.792012
Robinson, W. L. V., Whipple, C. R., Keenan, K., Flack, C. E., & Wingate, L. R. (2022). Suicide in African American adolescents: Understanding risk by studying resilience. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 18, 359-385. https://doi.org/10.1146/ANNUREV-CLINPSY-072220-021819
Rudes, G., & Fantuzzi, C. (2022). The association between racism and suicidality among young minority groups: A systematic review. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 33(2), 228-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/10436596211046983
Sanauddin, N., Ahmad, Z., & Sajid, I. A. (2022). Rising trend of suicides among youth in Chitral: A sociological analysis. Pakistan Journal of Criminology, 14(1), 71-90. https://www.pjcriminology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/6.-Rising-Trend-of-Suicides-among-Youth.pdf
Santos de la Morena, B. (2020). La desintegración de la religión en La Numancia. Anales Cervantinos, 52, 301-323. https://doi.org/10.3989/ANACERVANTINOS.2020.012
Santoyo, C. Y., Pérez, E. A., & Orozco, L. A. (2021). Ideación suicida en jóvenes LGBT: una revisión de la literatura. Journal of Basic and Applied Psychology Research, 3, 11-18. https://repository.uaeh.edu.mx/revistas/index.php/jbapr/article/download/6270/8115/
Smith, A. U., & Reidy, D. (2021). Bullying and suicide risk among sexual minority youth in the United States. Preventive Medicine, 153, 106728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106728
Soto, G. G. (2017). Suicidios contemporáneos: vínculos, desigualdades y transformaciones socioculturales. Ensayos sobre violencia, cultura y sentido. Flacso-Chile. https://obtienearchivo.bcn.cl/obtienearchivo?id=documentos/10221.1/69695/1/LFLACSO-Guajardo-ED-145481-PUBCOM.pdf
Tapia, T. J. (2016, 26 de febrero). La selva inflada: un documental sobre suicidios indígenas en el Vaupés. VICE. https://www.vice.com/es/article/5gvx8q/la-selva-inflada
Vijayakumar, L., Ray, S., Fernandes, T. N., & Pathare, S. (2021). A descriptive mapping review of suicide in vulnerable populations in low and middle countries. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 13(3), e12472. https://doi.org/10.1111/appy.12472
Wang, Y. C., Chang, S. R., & Miao, N. F. (2022). Suicide attempts among Taiwanese lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults during the 2018 Taiwan referendum on same-sex issues. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 54(3), 388-395. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12744
Weber, I., Gianolla, C., & Sotero, L. (2020). Suicide and structural violence. Systematic review of a correlation marked by colonialism. Sociedade e Estado, 35(1), 189-228. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-6992-202035010009
Wing, A. S., Yee Lo, I., & Yan, E. (2022). Health and social inclusion: The impact of psychological well-being and suicide attempts among older men who have sex with men. American Journal of Men’s Health, 16(5), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883221120985
Zhang, J. (2019). The strain theory of suicide. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 13, e27. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-pacific-rim-psychology/article/strain-theory-of-suicide/DD739BE91A220E3AAE1B1E57E98314DB
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The magazine and the individual texts published in it are protected by copyright laws and by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.








