Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/92

 78 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

SUICIDE IN BELGIUM.

In Belgium we find an analogous development, although in late years there seems to have been some amelioration in the sense of a lessening of the perturbations of the social life in relation to the diminution of suicides:

1871-80, i suicide for 12,146 inhabitants

1881-90, i " " 8,917

1891-1900, i " " 8,098

The progress, subsequent to the social troubles of 1886 and to the social legislation, still insufficient, which followed, corre- sponded also to the cessation of the economic depression. It seems, however, that it ought to be more especially attributed to the amelioration in the social legislation. In France, when the same kind of an economic crisis existed, and which passed away and was followed by prosperity, almost synchronous, the tend- ency to suicide, on the contrary, was not checked. The situation in Belgium, as in France, is, however, very precarious.

Sex also exercises an influence in causing suicide, although in its difference from insanity, which is especially passive, the pri- macy continues to belong to man. However, it is necessary to observe that in the new social conditions for women, and espe- cially since the family has been injured by the regime of the large industry, not yet well organized, the situation of woman from the point of view of suicide has continued to draw nearer that of man.

The accompanying table gives periodical averages according to sex in Belgium.

The increase of the population in Belgium from 1831 to 1900 having been only 79.17 per cent, one sees that the increase of suicides in general, as well as among females, has been much more rapid. However, in the later years there has been a slow amelioration. As the increase of the population in general has been more rapid during the last decennial period than during that from 1880 to 1890, so there has been a decrease of suicide; the same phenomenon was observed from 1876 to 1886, a period of great industrial prosperity and equally remarkable for the relative diminution of suicides.