Craig D. Murray, Jenny Shilton Osborne
Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
Internet and Suicide. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2009, 452 pages.

In recent years concerns have been raised regarding the risk factors of on-line self-injury peer groups to exacerbate self-harming, suicidal behaviour by subscribed members. The current chapter considers these concerns with an illustrative, qualitative examination of the interactions of self-harming individuals on an Internet self-injury discussion group. Taken from a larger study, we present here an illustrative discourse analysis of the features and functions of posts to one Internet discussion group. This includes consideration of how individuals who self-injure represent themselves and their behaviour and how meanings and opinions are negotiated through on-line discussions. Here, discursive devices are highlighted which function to convey opinion as fact, externalise self-harming behaviour, remove blame from the individual and minimise agency, and construct significant others in particular ways. The possible implications of such discursive exchanges for the alleviation or exacerbation of self-injury are discussed. It is suggested that discourse analysis is appropriate and informative in the study of sensitive and controversial topics such as self-injury, in particular for improving knowledge of the meanings individuals assign to their behaviour, which in turn may inform and improve treatment interventions.