Predictors of mobilizing online coping versus offline coping resources after negative life events

This exploratory study drew upon the social compensation/social enhancement hypotheses and weak tie network theory to predict what kind of people supplement offline coping resources with online coping resources more than others. Using a large, representative survey the authors found that low self-esteem, lonely, and socially isolated individuals add more online resources to their mix of preferred coping strategies than their counterparts. These groups benefit from the fact that online coping resources are not as strongly entangled with online social ties as are offline coping resources with offline ties, and from the fact that online coping resources can sometimes be mobilized without any social interactions. In contrast to offline coping, the researchers also found that men mobilize more online coping resources than women. The authors discuss the implications of these findings in terms of the social compensation hypothesis and online weak tie networks. We study mobilization of online and offline coping resources using a large dataset.We find support for social compensation with regard to coping resources.The lonely, isolated, and those with low self-esteem are less disadvantaged online.Women mobilize more support offline but less online after negative life events.The compensation is strongest for socioemotional coping and weak for disengagement.

[1]  Hetty van Emmerik,et al.  Gender differences in the creation of different types of social capital: A multilevel study , 2006, Soc. Networks.

[2]  Jenny de Jong Gierveld,et al.  A review of loneliness: concept and definitions, determinants and consequences , 1998 .

[3]  Andrea Chester,et al.  Shyness and the internet: Social problem or panacea? , 2008, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[4]  Shelley E. Taylor,et al.  Modeling cognitive adaptation: a longitudinal investigation of the impact of individual differences and coping on college adjustment and performance. , 1992, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[5]  P. Vorderer,et al.  Enjoyment: At the Heart of Media Entertainment , 2004 .

[6]  Milena M. Head,et al.  Computer use by older adults: A multi-disciplinary review , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[7]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .

[8]  L. Tidwell,et al.  Computer-Mediated Communication Effects on Disclosure, Impressions, and Interpersonal Evaluations: Getting to Know One Another a Bit at a Time , 2002 .

[9]  S. Utz,et al.  Online Coping After Negative Life Events , 2016 .

[10]  D. Hudson,et al.  Depression, self-esteem, loneliness, and social support among adolescent mothers participating in the new parents project. , 2000, Adolescence.

[11]  J. Moskowitz,et al.  Coping: pitfalls and promise. , 2004, Annual review of psychology.

[12]  P. Valkenburg,et al.  Preadolescents' and adolescents' online communication and their closeness to friends. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

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

[14]  Stephen A. Rains,et al.  Weak Tie Support Preference and Preferred Coping Styles as Predictors of Perceived Credibility Within Health-Related Computer-Mediated Support Groups , 2014, Health communication.

[15]  Ronald E. Rice,et al.  Transition, stress and computer-mediated social support , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[16]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  Developing a Model of Adolescent Friendship Formation on the Internet , 2005, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[17]  Samuel D. Gosling,et al.  Manifestations of Personality in Online Social Networks: Self-Reported Facebook-Related Behaviors and Observable Profile Information , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[18]  P Maguire,et al.  Confiding in crisis: gender differences in pattern of confiding among cancer patients. , 1995, Social science & medicine.

[19]  Lindsay H. Shaw,et al.  In Defense of the Internet: The Relationship between Internet Communication and Depression, Loneliness, Self-Esteem, and Perceived Social Support , 2002, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[20]  L. R. Goldberg.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARKERS FOR THE BIG-FIVE FACTOR STRUCTURE , 1992 .

[21]  C. Carver.  You want to measure coping but your protocol’ too long: Consider the brief cope , 1997, International journal of behavioral medicine.

[22]  Richard W. Robins,et al.  Low Self-Esteem Is Related to Aggression, Antisocial Behavior, and Delinquency , 2005, Psychological science.

[23]  D. J. Lee.  Society and the Adolescent Self-Image , 1969 .

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

[25]  N. Schneiderman,et al.  Social support and prognosis in patients at increased psychosocial risk recovering from myocardial infarction. , 2007, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[26]  John Suler,et al.  Fostering empowerment in online support groups , 2008, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[27]  Fan Yang,et al.  Benefits of a Negative Post: Effects of Computer-Mediated Venting on Relationship Maintenance , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[28]  T. Tilburg,et al.  A 6-Item Scale for Overall, Emotional, and Social Loneliness , 2006 .

[29]  N. Ellison,et al.  Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis , 2008 .

[30]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  The Benefits of Facebook "Friends: " Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[31]  J. Asendorpf,et al.  Personality effects on social relationships. , 1998 .

[32]  Mark S. Granovetter.  T H E S T R E N G T H O F WEAK TIES: A NETWORK THEORY REVISITED , 1983 .

[33]  Gül Seçkin.  Satisfaction with health status among cyber patients: testing a mediation model of electronic coping support , 2013, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[34]  Jaap J. A. Denissen,et al.  Who Benefits From Chatting, and Why? , 2011, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[35]  Sumaira Malik,et al.  Gender differences in computer-mediated communication: a systematic literature review of online health-related support groups. , 2009, Patient education and counseling.

[36]  G. Moore.  Structural Determinants of Men's and Women's Personal Networks , 1990 .

[37]  Pamela J. Lannutti,et al.  Death on Facebook , 2015 .

[38]  D. Gunnell,et al.  Help-seeking behaviour in men and women with common mental health problems: cross-sectional study , 2005, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[39]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  Internet Communication and Its Relation to Well-Being: Identifying Some Underlying Mechanisms , 2007 .

[40]  Neil S. Coulson,et al.  Empowering processes in online support groups among people living with HIV/AIDS: A comparative analysis of 'lurkers' and 'posters' , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[41]  Mark S. Granovetter.  The Strength of Weak Ties , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[42]  Lisa Feldman Barrett,et al.  Accuracy of the Five-Factor Model in Predicting Perceptions of Daily Social Interactions , 1997 .

[43]  Andrea Caragliu,et al.  Do Smart Cities Invest in Smarter Policies? Learning From the Past, Planning for the Future , 2016 .

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

[45]  James A. Danowski,et al.  The Faces of Facebookers: Investigating Social Enhancement and Social Compensation Hypotheses; Predicting FacebookTM and Offline Popularity from Sociability and Self-Esteem, and Mapping the Meanings of Popularity with Semantic Networks , 2008, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

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

[47]  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.

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

[49]  D. Oswald,et al.  Shyness and online social networking services , 2010 .

[50]  Ben Pelzer,et al.  Consequences of media and Internet use for offline and online network capital and well-being. A causal model approach , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[51]  C. Carver,et al.  Personality and coping. , 2020, Annual review of psychology.

[52]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  Characteristics and Motives of Adolescents Talking with Strangers on the Internet , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[53]  E. V. Ingen,et al.  Social Network Site Usage and Personal Relations of Migrants , 2014 .

[54]  G. H. Cheng,et al.  A Comparison of Offline and Online Friendship Qualities at Different Stages of Relationship Development , 2004 .