scholarly journals Exploring the Effect of Social Support and Empathy on User Engagement in Online Mental Health Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 6855
Author(s):  
Yixin Chen ◽  
Yang Xu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Online Social Support ◽  
User Behaviors ◽  
Mental Problems ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Received Social Support ◽  
Health Communities

It is known that social support and empathy are beneficial for mental health. As a result of the widespread development of social media, online social support and empathy could also influence user behaviors during the development of online communities. However, few studies have examined these effects from the perspective of online mental health communities. These communities appear to be a crucial source for mental health related support, but the spread of online empathy in these communities is not well-understood. This study focused on 22 mental health related subreddits, and matched and compared users (1) who received social support with those who did not receive social support, and users (2) who received more empathic social support with those who received less empathic social support. The results showed that social support and empathy are “contagious”. That is, users who received social support at their first post would be more likely to post again and provide support for others; in addition, users who received more empathic support would subsequently express a higher level of empathy to others in the future. Our findings indicate the potential chain reaction of social support and empathy in online mental health communities. Our study also provides insights into how online mental health communities might better assist people to deliver social support that can help others to deal with mental problems.

scholarly journals Women with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Effect of Disease and Psychosocial-Related Correlates on Health-Related Quality of Life

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Wasif Gillani ◽  
Irfan Altaf Ansari ◽  
Hisham A. Zaghloul ◽  
Mohi Iqbal Mohammad Abdul ◽  
Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Psychosocial Factors ◽  
Health Perception ◽  
Diabetes Distress ◽  
Dependent Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Related

Background. This study is aimed at investigating the various disease-specific and health-related psychosocial concepts of HRQOL among insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and understanding the gender differences in HRQOL among IDDM patients. Methods. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted to assess the effect of health-related and psychosocial correlates on HRQOL of IDDM patients in Penang, Malaysia. The participants were recruited from five governmental diabetic clinics. Patients with insulin use only, IDDM diagnosed at least 1 year earlier, were identified from clinical registers. The sample was then age stratified for 20–64 years, and severe complications (e.g., end-stage renal failure, hemodialysis, and liver cirrhosis) were excluded; a total of 1003 participants were enrolled in the study. Multivariate regression analysis was used to predict the response. Results. A total of 853 (100%) participants were enrolled and completed the study. Women exhibited significantly higher/better mental health (p<0.013) and health perception scores (p<0.001) despite high prevalence of impaired role (49.2%), social (24.2%), and physical (40.5%) functionings as compared to men. Women with longer diabetes exposure and uncontrolled glycemic levels (HbA1c) have poorer HRQOL. Availability of social support showed no significant association with either HRQOL or diabetes distress levels. Diabetes distress levels remained not associated with social support. Women also showed significantly higher association with health perception (15% versus 13% men, p<0.001) and mental health (13% versus 11% men, p<0.001) in diabetes-specific psychosocial factors. Thus, among women alone, diabetes-related specific and psychosocial factors explained 15% and 13% of variations in HRQOL extents, respectively. Conclusion. Women exhibit extensive and significant patterns with health-related factors and diabetes-specific psychosocial factors (self-efficacy, social support, and DLC) to improve HRQOL. Also, women have significantly high reported distress levels and low social functioning compared to men.

scholarly journals Understanding University Students’ Experiences, Perceptions, and Attitudes Toward Peers Displaying Mental Health-related Problems on Social Network Sites (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taewan Kim ◽  
Hwajung Hong
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
College Students ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Design Guideline ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Health Related

BACKGROUND College students are at a vulnerable age; among those with serious mental health problems, this period is frequently when the first episodes appear. As a result, college students are increasingly disclosing their vulnerable, stigmatized experiences on social networking sites (SNSs). Understanding students’ perceptions and attitudes toward their peers who are dealing with mental health problems is vital to the efforts to eliminate peer exclusion and foster social support. OBJECTIVE This work aims to provide a better understanding of how college perceive and react to their fellow students’ mental health related activities on SNSs. We investigate how students recognize, perceive, and react to peers who display mental health related challenges on SNSs. METHODS Survey with 226 students, and semi structured interviews with 20 students were conducted at six universities in South Korea. RESULTS We revealed that a considerable number of college students did not proactively provide support even when they identified at-risk peers because of stigmatized content, unusual online activities, or a gap between online and offline identities. We found that the students’ lack of knowledge, confidence, and expectations as well as their desire to maintain distance from at-risk peers hindered social support. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of this study’s finding, we discuss SNS design guideline that would help these platforms facilitate support exchanges among peers while minimizing potential risks.

Impacts of smart mobile devices use on promoting the mental health of elder adults: A social supports perspective (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Ma ◽  
Dongxiao Gu ◽  
Changyong Liang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Online Social Support ◽  
Use Behavior ◽  
Smart Mobile ◽  
Smart Mobile Devices

BACKGROUND As China’s population ages, older people’s mental health has become an important social issue. In recent years, the popularity of smart mobile devices (SMDs) (such as smart watches, smartphones, tablets, etc.) means an increasing number of elderly people are using them. OBJECTIVE We investigated the impacts of SMDs on promoting mental health by developing a research model associated with SMD-use behavior, social support, and the mental health of the elderly. METHODS Participants included 478 elderly SMD users, of whom 242 (50.63%) were women and 236 (49.37%) were men. The Social Support Scale, SMD-use Scale, GDS-30 and Tilburg weakness evaluation scale (GFI) were used in data collection. Structural equation modeling (SEM)be used for data analysis RESULTS The influence of intelligent terminal use behavior on enacted offline social support (T=6.903, p= 0.00) is greater than that on enacted online social support (T=2.294, p=0.033). The use behavior of intelligent terminals has the largest impact on perceived social support (T=3.929, p=0.00), followed by enacted offline social support (T=2.848, p=0.004) and enacted online social support (T=2.242, p=0.013). The effects of perceived social support on depression were confirmed (T=6.736, p=0.00). It showed that perceived social support had a significant impact on depression. CONCLUSIONS Our study found that the usage of SMD devices could effectively affect older people’s mental health based on social support. The influence of SMD use on social support is mainly on enacted offline social support, which is different from the previous research on young people. Besides, the use of SMD equipment can effectively improve the perceived ability for the elderly.

Online Social Support Groups/Communities

2022 ◽  
pp. 349-369
Author(s):  
Liza Ngenye ◽  
Kevin Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Online Support ◽  
Online Support Groups ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Online Social Support ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Online Networks ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Health Related

Numerous studies over the past two decades suggest that people with a variety of health concerns are increasingly turning to online networks for social support. This has led to the rise of online support groups/communities for people facing health concerns. Researchers have found that these groups/communities provide patients, disease survivors, and caregivers a number of advantages and disadvantages in terms of mobilizing social support for their health-related concerns. This chapter will examine these issues in greater detail as well as the theoretical and practical implications of this body of research for patients who use online support communities to help cope with and manage a variety of health issues. It will provide an overview of online social support and health outcomes, discuss key processes and theoretical explanations for the efficacy of online support communities for people facing health concerns, and the limitations of this body of research as well as an agenda for future communication research on health-related online support groups/communities.

Using Social Learning Theory to Assess the Exercise Related Health Education Needs of Post-Retirement Adults

1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Schuster ◽  
Rick Petosa
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Social Learning Theory ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Received Social Support ◽  
Education Needs

The purpose of this study was to determine the exercise related health education needs of post-retirement adults. Social Learning Theory (SLT) was used as the conceptual framework. The target population for this study was post-retirement adults aged sixty years and over living in Columbus, Ohio. Results revealed a serious lack of knowledge regarding the benefits and attributes of exercise. Overall it appeared that few older adults received social support for exercise. Approximately one-half of the sample reported high levels of exercise self-efficacy. Over 50 percent of the sample reported to exercise for health-related benefits. Based on the results, specific recommendations for the promotion of exercise in post-retirement adults are offered.

scholarly journals Health related quality of life and buffering factors in adult survivors of acute pediatric lymphoblastic leukemia and their siblings

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina Aili ◽  
Susann Arvidsson ◽  
Jens M. Nygren
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
General Health ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Role Emotional ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Pediatric All

Abstract Background The improvement in treatment of pediatric acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) has introduced new challenges for pediatric oncology care in understanding and handling long-term treatment-related complications later in adult life. The aim of this study was to describe health related quality of life (HRQoL) and the relation to buffering factors among young adult (YA) pediatric ALL survivors and their siblings. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed among 227 adults, treated for pediatric ALL in Sweden between 1985 and 1997 and their siblings (n = 70). Group means of HRQoL (SF-36) were compared between YA ALL survivors and the siblings, as well as to normative values from the general population. Self-efficacy (GSES) and social support (SS-13 subscale AVSI) was considering potential buffering factors for HRQoL and mental health. Associations between HRQoL and mental health respectively and self-efficacy and social support was analyzed. Results The YA ALL survivors scored significantly lower on the HRQoL parameters general health (69.6 vs. 78.4, p = 0.004) and role emotional (77.1 vs. 88.1, p = 0.014), than the siblings. Further, they reported significantly lower general health (69.6 vs. 75.8), vitality (56.9 vs. 68.8), social functioning (84.5 vs. 88.6), role emotional (77.1 vs. 85.7) and mental health (71.3 vs. 80.9) compared with Swedish norms. Both YA ALL survivors and the siblings reported lower vitality and worse mental health than the general population. The HRQoL parameters, depression, stress and anxiety were all associated with both self-efficacy and social support among the YA ALL survivors. Among the siblings however, only general health, vitality, role emotional, mental health and depression were associated with social support, and only general health and mental health were associated with general self-efficacy. Conclusion The results from this study show that buffering factors, like social support and self-efficacy, may play an important role for psychosocial outcomes and HRQoL among YA ALL survivors later in life. The results suggest that this group could benefit from continuous support in adult life to handle consequences of their pediatric disease.

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