THEORETICAL BASIS OF STUDYING SUICIDE AS A SOCIAL PHENOMENON

Antonova Ol'ga Gennad'evna, Doctor of sociological sciences, professor, head of sub-department of sociological theory and history, Saratov State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky (83 Astrakhanskaya street, Saratov, Russia), ogantonova@rambler.ru
Zhidkov Roman Ivanovich, Postgraduate student, Saratov State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky (83 Astrakhanskaya street, Saratov, Russia), romancroft@mail.ru

316.6; 316.2

Background. The problem of suicide has always attracted scientific attention – not just among sociologists, but also among scholars from other fields of knowledge. In the framework of various scientific field there are own interpretations and conceptions on the nature of the present phenomenon, and nevertheless all theoretical schemes, one way or another, reveal the social nature of suicide. The article introduces the analysis of theories and conceptions of both foreign and Russian authors, specializing in social aspects of suicide. The aim of the article is to reveal theoretical bases of studying suicide as a social phenomenon.
Materials and methods. Realization of the research tasks was achieved by the analysis of theories and conceptions of foreign and Russian researchers, who largely contributed to the study of the social nature of suicide.
Results. The research results show that theoretical bases of studying suicide as a social phenomenon are represented by scientific propositions and conclusions, obtained by foreign and Russian scientists-representatives of various scientific fields, including sociology.
Conclusions. Obtained in the framework of the conducted researches, the important theoretical propositions on the social nature of suicide are of special scientific interest from the point of view of the sociological analysis.

suicide, deviant behavior, social nature of suicide, theories and conceptions of suicidal behaviour.

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