scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Online Depression Communities in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (14) ◽  
pp. 5023
Author(s):  
Jingyun Tang ◽  
Guang Yu ◽  
Xiaoxu Yao
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Operation Mode ◽  
Community Management ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Treatment Of Depression

Online communities have become a tool for researchers to understand and help individuals with depression. According to their operation mode in terms of management, communities can be divided into management depression communities (MDCs) and lacking-management depression communities (LDCs). This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and impact of LDCs in comparison with MDCs. All postings from the previous year were collected from the LDC and MDC. Keywords were extracted and coded to identify the themes, and a text classifier was built to identify the type of emotions and social support expressed in the postings. Community members were then clustered to explore their different participation patterns. We found that in the LDC, the expression of negative emotions was the most popular theme, there was a lack of information about the treatment of depression and a lack of social support providers, the level of engagement of providers was low, and support seekers did not receive attention. These results reveal the need for community management and can be used to develop more effective measures to support members of online depression communities.

Elements of the management of norms and their effects on the sense of virtual community

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Petrič ◽  
Andraž Petrovčič
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
System Level ◽  
Community Management ◽  
Web Survey ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how decisions of managers and administrators of online communities on norms and rules affect the sense of virtual community (SOVC), which is an important factor of the quality of online information. Design/methodology/approach – The study followed a two-level research design based on 970 online community members, nested within 36 online communities. Data collection consisted of two stages: first a web survey of a sample of online community members was conducted, followed by a web survey of administrators of the same online communities. A two-level hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The empirical results suggest that prominence of rules under the condition of members’ participation in their creation, presence of reputation mechanisms, and content moderation contribute significantly to the SOVC , while presence of lighter sanctions and interactive moderation do not. Research limitations/implications – Since this study is based on web forums, the validity of the proposed hypotheses for other types of online communities cannot be firmly established. Additional elements of online community management could be considered for a stronger system-level explanation of the SOVC. Practical implications – The study demonstrates that online community administrators need to be considerate in creating and enforcing norms, as their decisions have an impact on the SOVC and consequently on the quality of online information. Originality/value – The literature considers many factors of the SOVC but none of the previous studies have considered how community management is associated with this phenomenon.

scholarly journals Education and social support: do migrants benefit as much as natives?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Brandt ◽  
Kyra Selina Hagge
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Appraisal Support ◽  
Migration Experiences ◽  
To Receive

Abstract Education and having access to social support play a vital role in the human life. Integrated and better-educated people demonstrate an increased personal health and well-being. Social isolation, on the contrary, can affect not only the personal development, but also pertains to society. These topics are especially relevant in the current migration debate. Our paper examines the link between schooling and the individuals’ probability to receive different types of social support, in particular emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support. Using logit and ordinal logit regressions on cross-sectional micro-data provided by the SOEP, we distinguish between two subgroups, the native population and people who migrated to Germany. Our findings confirm that higher levels of education increase the probability to access social support as well as the number of support providers in the network. Migrants are disadvantaged when it comes to the access of social support. However, our results suggest no significant negative returns to education for people with migration experiences.

scholarly journals Are Pharmaceutical Treatments or Psychological Approaches a More Effective Way of Treating Depression?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruochen Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Treatment Plan ◽  
Psychological Approach ◽  
Pharmaceutical Treatment ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
The World

Objective: To review the related researches on the treatment of depression around the world and to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of antidepressants and psychotherapy, so that to find a more effective treatment plan for depression. Methods: The principles of several common pharmaceutical treatment combined with psychological approach were analyzed, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy and social support therapy included. Discussion: Some experimental results were illustrated and the advantages of Pharmaceutical treatment combined with psychological approach was revealed. Conclusion: Research indicates when pharmaceutical treatment is available, the combination of drugs and psychotherapy is more effective than sole pharmaceutical treatment.

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