Factors Associated with Assistance and Baiting in Response to Threat of Suicide in an Online Forum
Date
Authors
Phillips, JG
Thakral, P
Mann, L
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert
Abstract
Online forums for potentially suicidal individuals are intended to provide peer help and support but may also lead to harassment and baiting. Factors associated with assistance (concern, suggesting seeking medication or treatment) and with baiting (taunting, encouraging self-harm) were investigated in an archival study of the Reddit r/sad forum during 2 months in 2023, in which N = 175 posts flagged suicidal ideas and intent. Assistance was offered in 158 cases (but suicide methods were also suggested to 11 cases), and no response proffered to 17 cases. Offers of assistance were more likely when the suicidal individual did not report substance abuse (r = 0.20) and had a larger audience (r = 0.22). Baiting was more likely when a suicidal person indicated a suicide method (r = 0.27), was receiving more audience responses (r = 0.21) and audience downvotes (r = 0.36). While assistance was much greater than baiting, the incidence of baiting (∼5 percent) and the potential for harm is a concern. Even moderated online forums may present a risk for potentially suicidal people.Description
Keywords
assistance, baiting, indifference, online forums, suicidal ideation, 5203 Clinical and Health Psychology, 52 Psychology, Substance Misuse, Mental Illness, Suicide Prevention, Suicide, Brain Disorders, Behavioral and Social Science, Prevention, Serious Mental Illness, Mental Health, 2.3 Psychological, social and economic factors, Mental health, 3 Good Health and Well Being, 0806 Information Systems, 1701 Psychology, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, Clinical Psychology, 4609 Information systems, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, 5205 Social and personality psychology
Source
Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, ISSN: 2152-2715 (Print); 2152-2723 (Online), SAGE Publications, 29(2), 122-127. doi: 10.1177/21522715261417551
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Rights statement
This is the Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking © 2026 by SAGE Publications. The published version is available FREE ACCESS at doi: 10.1177/21522715261417551