Measuring social integration and social support

Abstract

With the point of departure in the classical theories of Émile Durkheim on the importance of the relationship between the individual and her society, the concepts of social integration and social support, and the theoretical framework behind an operationalization of the two are discussed. The paper then concentrates on measuring “social support”. To illustrate the method, preliminary Danish data from an inter-European study on attempted suicide are used.

Key Words:

• Social integration
• Social support
• Suicide attempt