O'Hare, Vanessa (2019) Discursive Analysis: Seeking Providing and Acknowledging Support in Online Suicide Support Forums. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
This study explored how seeking, providing and acknowledging social support is accomplished in online suicide forums. A discursive psychological approach examined how individuals experiencing a suicidal crisis, sought support online, how forum peers provided support, and how this support was acknowledged. Archival data originally collected from three Australian publicly accessible mental health websites formed the data corpus. Of the 35 threads which formed the data corpus one thread was selected for analysis due to the depth and breadth of discussion, with the first-poster posting on their thread six times and with forum peers responding with 11 posts. Results revealed in order to receive support the firstposter must first substantiate their claim of being in need of support, with their first post setting the scene for why they are posting at this time. If their claim for support was successful they received responses to their post that were supportive in nature. The nature of support included one or all, and in any order, the following: acknowledgment of the firstposter’s situation; displays of alignment; advice as to how to resolve their crisis; and requests for further information and words of encouragement. Examining how support is sought, provided and acknowledged between people with shared experiences can provide health practitioners unique insight into discussions surrounding suicide and how forum members deal with the provision of support at different stages of suicidality. This may assist health practitioners by providing them with different ways of understanding and providing support to people at risk of suicide.
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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: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Andrea Lamont Mills |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Oct 2025 00:26 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Oct 2025 00:26 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | suicide; online forums; peer support; suicide support forums |
| 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/52629 |
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