The thwarting disorientation theory of suicide proposed by Raoul
Naroll is described and, although similar to Durkheim's classic
theory of suicide, is seen to be more dynamic and applicable to
individual cases of suicide. Empirical tests of Naroll's theory, con ducted by him and by others, are reviewed and found to be supportive of the theory. Naroll's provocative notion that suicide may be
used as an index of the quality of a culture is described and found
to be consistent with the views of modern commentators concerned
about the rising suicide rate in modern industrialized societies.
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