Weller, Brittney D. (2022) “Is it worthy to live cause of a cat”: Support in r/SuicideWatch. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
People are increasingly going online for suicide-related reasons to connect with like-minded peers who share a living experience of suicidality. With this comes a need to understand the harms or benefits of utilising online forums and the implications such spaces may have on a user’s suicidality. Previous qualitative research exploring online forums has examined language or grammar structures in isolation without realising how this may produce biased understandings of users’ interactions. Thus, this study aims to critically explicate the utility of a peer-led, unmoderated suicide forum, from the perspective of a user requesting support during a heightened state of suicidal desire. Findings explored how forum members discussed reasons to live and how support was received during moments when a user was at imminent risk of suicide. Conversation analysis was used to examine 149 posts from a single thread of interaction “Is it Worthy to Live Cause of a Cat”, from the subreddit r/SuicideWatch. Findings revealed that forum members discursively managed an at-risk user’s ambivalence about living or dying, mitigating the user’s current levels of suicidal desire. Members were unequivocal in their responses and affirmed that it was okay to live for a cat. Responses displayed a pattern of responding that was demonstrated across four different styles of responding. Findings suggest r/SuicideWatch was able to provide transient connectedness to an at-risk user, where immediate, individualised support and trusted advice were provided, which mitigated current levels of suicidal desire. More research is needed privileging users’ sense-making, to better understand the utility of peer-led, unmoderated forums.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Wellbeing (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Steven Christensen |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Aug 2025 03:27 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Aug 2025 03:27 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | suicidality; cats; reasons to live; conversation analysis |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52866 |
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