Communicating Social Support in Computer-mediated Contexts: A Meta-analytic Review of Content Analyses Examining Support Messages Shared Online among Individuals Coping with Illness

Research on social support during the past two decades has been marked by a growth in scholarship examining supportive communication in computer-mediated contexts among individuals coping with illness. In an effort to summarize and advance this body of research, a meta-analytic review of content analyses was conducted. Across the 41 content analyses examining social support messages shared in health-related contexts online, informational and emotional support messages were most prevalent. Additionally, the prevalence of particular types of support messages varied based on several stressor dimensions relevant to illness. Nurturant forms of support were more common among content analyses examining health conditions likely to threaten personal relationships as well as among content analyses focusing on health conditions with a greater potential for loss in the form of death. Action-facilitating types of support were more common among content analyses examining more chronic conditions. The findings from this project offer insights about the nuanced ways in which computer-mediated communication is used as a resource for coping with illness.

[1]  P. Klemm,et al.  A nontraditional cancer support group. The Internet. , 1998, Computers in nursing.

[2]  Rachel A. Smith,et al.  A meta-analysis of disclosure of one's HIV-positive status, stigma and social support , 2008, AIDS care.

[3]  L. Donelle,et al.  Social support and online postpartum depression discussion groups: a content analysis. , 2012, Patient education and counseling.

[4]  E. Goffman.  Stigma; Notes On The Management Of Spoiled Identity , 1964 .

[5]  J. Feldman.  Meta-Analysis: Cumulating Research Findings Across Studies , 1984 .

[6]  Ming Liu,et al.  An analysis of social support exchanges in online HIV/AIDS self-help groups , 2009, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[7]  Wim H Van Brakel,et al.  Measuring health-related stigma—A literature review , 2006, Psychology, health & medicine.

[8]  J. Walther.  Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1992 .

[9]  Deborah F Tate,et al.  Weight loss social support in 140 characters or less: use of an online social network in a remotely delivered weight loss intervention , 2013, Translational behavioral medicine.

[10]  L. Hedges,et al.  Statistical Methods for Meta-Analysis , 1987 .

[11]  Hsiu-Chia Ko,et al.  Understanding the Different Types of Social Support Offered by Audience to A-List Diary-Like and Informative Bloggers , 2013, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[12]  Neil S. Coulson,et al.  Exploring the Communication of Social Support within Virtual Communities: A Content Analysis of Messages Posted to an Online HIV/AIDS Support Group , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[13]  N. Coulson,et al.  Social support in cyberspace: a content analysis of communication within a Huntington's disease online support group. , 2007, Patient education and counseling.

[14]  K. Wallston,et al.  Problematic Social Support, Family Functioning, and Subjective Well-Being in Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis , 2010, Women & health.

[15]  Rachel A. Smith.  Stigma, Communication, and Health , 2011 .

[16]  F. Oprescu,et al.  Explorations of uncertainty management: internet based behaviors of caregivers in the context of clubfoot , 2009 .

[17]  J. Suhr,et al.  Controllability of Stressful Events and Satisfaction With Spouse Support Behaviors , 1992 .

[18]  H. Winefield,et al.  Breast and Prostate Cancer Online Discussion Boards , 2007, Journal of health psychology.

[19]  Lorraine R. Buis,et al.  Emotional and Informational Support Messages in an Online Hospice Support Community , 2008, Computers, informatics, nursing : CIN.

[20]  Yuping Mao,et al.  A content analysis of online social support behaviors of overseas Chinese prenatal and postnatal women , 2010 .

[21]  L. Hedges,et al.  Introduction to Meta‐Analysis , 2009, International Coaching Psychology Review.

[22]  Crystal L. Hoyt,et al.  Social Inhibition in Immersive Virtual Environments , 2003, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[23]  D. Brashers.  Communication and Uncertainty Management. , 2001 .

[24]  Elizabeth A. Craig,et al.  Role strain and online social support for childless stepmothers , 2011 .

[25]  Joshua M. Averbeck,et al.  Computer-Mediated Social Support , 2011 .

[26]  Stephen A. Rains,et al.  Weak-Tie Support Network Preference, Health-Related Stigma, and Health Outcomes in Computer-Mediated Support Groups , 2013 .

[27]  Snunith Shoham,et al.  Characteristics of a Virtual Community for Individuals Who Are d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing , 2012, American annals of the deaf.

[28]  Stephen A. Rains,et al.  The Social Dimension of Blogging about Health: Health Blogging, Social Support, and Well-being , 2011 .

[29]  L. Saul.  Coping and Adaptation , 1975 .

[30]  Ruben Fukkink,et al.  Peer Counseling in an Online Chat Service: A Content Analysis of Social Support , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[31]  Genevieve A Cowie,et al.  Using an online service for breastfeeding support: what mothers want to discuss. , 2011, Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals.

[32]  C. Cutrona,et al.  Stress and Social Support—in Search of Optimal Matching , 1990 .

[33]  I. Harrington.  IT support for the learning of beginning Teachers in New South Wales, Australia , 2010 .

[34]  Stewart Christopher Alexander.  Leadership and Social Support on the Internet: A Longitudinal Analysis of Mental and Physical Illness Groups , 2002 .

[35]  A. Winzelberg.  The analysis of an electronic support group for individuals with eating disorders , 1997 .

[36]  Steven D'Alessandro,et al.  Communication That Changes Lives: Social Support Within an Online Health Community for ALS , 2013 .

[37]  Stephanie Tom Tong,et al.  The Use of Pro-Ana Blogs for Online Social Support , 2013, Eating disorders.

[38]  M. Carey,et al.  Impact of HIV-Related Stigma on Health Behaviors and Psychological Adjustment Among HIV-Positive Men and Women , 2006, AIDS and Behavior.

[39]  Thomas O. Blank,et al.  Differences among breast and prostate cancer online support groups , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[40]  Jennifer B. Gray.  Feeding On the Web: Online Social Support in the Breastfeeding Context , 2013 .

[41]  G. Scambler.  Health-related stigma. , 2009, Sociology of health & illness.

[42]  Martin Tanis.  What makes the internet a place to seek social support , 2008 .

[43]  Vincent R. Waldron,et al.  Communication of social support in computer-mediated groups for people with disabilities. , 1999, Health communication.

[44]  David Cantor,et al.  Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2007 , 2009 .

[45]  Sarah Arbogast.  140 characters to skinny: Social support provided by commercial weight-loss programs via Twitter , 2013 .

[46]  J. Livingston,et al.  Correlates and consequences of internalized stigma for people living with mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. , 2010, Social science & medicine.

[47]  Malcolm R. Parks,et al.  Cues Filtered Out, Cues Filtered In: Computer-Mediated Communication and Relationships , 2002 .

[48]  Bradley C. Love,et al.  Exploring Psychosocial Support Online: A Content Analysis of Messages in an Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Community , 2012, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[49]  Laura L. Carstensen,et al.  Evidence for a Life-Span Theory of Socioemotional Selectivity , 1995 .

[50]  B. Goldstein,et al.  Not all negative emotions are equal: the role of emotional expression in online support groups for women with breast cancer , 2006, Psycho-oncology.

[51]  S. Grogan,et al.  Adolescents Living with Cancer , 2011, Journal of health psychology.

[52]  J. McGough,et al.  Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder , 2000 .

[53]  Gabe Ignatow.  Culture and Embodied Cognition: Moral Discourses in Internet Support Groups for Overeaters , 2009 .

[54]  J. Walther.  Computer-Mediated Communication , 1996 .

[55]  Bert N. Uchino,et al.  Social Support and Physical Health: Understanding the Health Consequences of Relationships , 2004 .

[56]  P. Dunham,et al.  Computer-Mediated Social Support: Single Young Mothers as a Model System , 1998, American journal of community psychology.

[57]  Elmer V. Bernstam,et al.  Social support in an Internet weight loss community , 2010, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[58]  C. Ferrans,et al.  Measuring stigma in people with HIV: psychometric assessment of the HIV stigma scale. , 2001, Research in nursing & health.

[59]  G. Salmon,et al.  Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. , 2018, British journal of hospital medicine.

[60]  J. Grube,et al.  Developing an optimal match within online communities: an exploration of CMC support communities and traditional support , 2001 .

[61]  D. R. Lehman,et al.  Recipients' Perceptions of Support Attempts and Attributions for Support Attempts that Fail , 1990 .

[62]  Amy Aldridge Sanford.  “I Can Air My Feelings Instead of Eating Them”: Blogging as Social Support for the Morbidly Obese , 2010 .

[63]  K. Wright.  Social support within an on-line cancer community: an assessment of emotional support, perceptions of advantages and disadvantages, and motives for using the community from a communication perspective , 2002 .

[64]  R. Lazarus,et al.  The health-related functions of social support , 1981, Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

[65]  Stephen A. Rains,et al.  Human Communication Research Issn 0360-3989 a Meta-analysis of Research on Formal Computer-mediated Support Groups: Examining Group Characteristics and Health Outcomes , 2022 .

[66]  J. Sherblom,et al.  The Influences of Optimal Matching and Social Capital on Communicating Support , 2014, Journal of health communication.

[67]  Pamela Whitten,et al.  Comparison of Social Support Content Within Online Communities for High- and Low-Survival-Rate Cancers , 2011, Computers, informatics, nursing : CIN.

[68]  David A. Hamburg,et al.  Coping And Adaptation , 1974 .

[69]  Corinna E Löckenhoff,et al.  Socioemotional selectivity theory, aging, and health: the increasingly delicate balance between regulating emotions and making tough choices. , 2004, Journal of personality.

[70]  Gyda Bjornsdottir,et al.  Online social support for individuals concerned with heart disease: observing gender differences , 1999, AMIA.

[71]  Bo Feng,et al.  7 “Good” and “Bad” Advice: How to Advise More Effectively , 2008 .

[72]  C. Dunkel-schetter,et al.  Social Support and Cancer: Findings Based on Patient Interviews and Their Implications , 1984 .

[73]  Sumaira Malik,et al.  Coping with infertility online: an examination of self-help mechanisms in an online infertility support group. , 2010, Patient education and counseling.

[74]  Manuel Barrera,et al.  Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models , 1986 .

[75]  K. Paal.  Examining The Use Of Spirituality As A Form Of Social Support In Computer-Mediated Communication , 2013 .

[76]  Descriptors Higher.  Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association , 1974 .

[77]  Claude H. Miller,et al.  A Measure of Weak-Tie/Strong-Tie Support Network Preference , 2010 .

[78]  K. Mickelson.  Perceived Stigma, Social Support, and Depression , 2001 .

[79]  J. Finn,et al.  An exploration of helping processes in an online self-help group focusing on issues of disability. , 1999, Health & social work.

[80]  Kristen Campbell Eichhorn,et al.  Soliciting and Providing Social Support Over the Internet: An Investigation of Online Eating Disorder Support Groups , 2008, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[81]  Lauren E. Sherman,et al.  Forging friendship, soliciting support: A mixed-method examination of message boards for pregnant teens and teen mothers , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[82]  D. Goldsmith,et al.  Sex Differences and Similarities in the Communication of Social Support , 1997 .

[83]  Anne Zmyslinski-Seelig,et al.  The Presence of Social Support Messages on YouTube Videos About Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Ostomies , 2012, Health communication.

[84]  J. House,et al.  Measures and concepts of social support , 1985 .

[85]  Bret R. Shaw,et al.  Empowering Processes and Outcomes of Participation in Online Support Groups for Patients With Breast Cancer, Arthritis, or Fibromyalgia , 2008, Qualitative health research.

[86]  Stephanie D. Ashley.  Exploring Facebook as an online support group for smoking cessation , 2007 .

[87]  P. Thoits.  Social support as coping assistance. , 1986, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[88]  L Hoffman-Goetz,et al.  Chat Room Computer-Mediated Support on Health Issues for Aboriginal Women , 2007, Health care for women international.

[89]  Elizabeth Andrea Swigar Imbesi.  Gender, social support and coping in online prostate, breast and lung cancer support forums , 2011 .

[90]  Scott E. Caplan,et al.  Bringing theory to research on computer-mediated comforting communication , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[91]  Brant R. Burleson,et al.  How the comforting process works: Alleviating emotional distress through conversationally induced reappraisals , 1996 .

[92]  James D. Robinson,et al.  Expanding the Walls of the Health Care Encounter: Support and Outcomes for Patients Online , 2011, Health communication.

[93]  C. Carver,et al.  Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. , 1989, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[94]  Neil S. Coulson,et al.  Receiving Social Support Online: An Analysis of a Computer-Mediated Support Group for Individuals Living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome , 2005, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[95]  James D. Robinson,et al.  Can Messages Make a Difference? The Association between E-Mail Messages and Health Outcomes in Diabetes Patients. , 2013 .

[96]  Daniel W. Russell,et al.  Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. , 1990 .

[97]  Kevin B. Wright,et al.  Health-related Support Groups on the Internet: Linking Empirical Findings to Social Support and Computer-mediated Communication Theory , 2003, Journal of health psychology.

[98]  T. Ginossar.  Online Participation: A Content Analysis of Differences in Utilization of Two Online Cancer Communities by Men and Women, Patients and Family Members , 2008, Health communication.

[99]  Carol E Smith,et al.  Meta-Analysis of the Associations between Social Support and Health Outcomes , 1994, Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

[100]  David M. Keating.  Spirituality and Support: A Descriptive Analysis of Online Social Support for Depression , 2013, Journal of Religion and Health.

[101]  Sumaira Malik,et al.  The Therapeutic Potential of the Internet: Exploring Self-Help Processes in an Internet Forum for Young People With Inflammatory Bowel Disease , 2011, Gastroenterology nursing : the official journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates.

[102]  Gregg B. Jackson,et al.  Meta-Analysis: Cumulating Research Findings Across Studies , 1982 .