AI Article Synopsis
- This study investigates participation in online support groups for breast cancer patients, focusing on who engages as posters, lurkers, or nonusers.
- It utilizes a comprehensive information-seeking model and examines how different engagement types affect psychosocial health outcomes.
- Findings reveal that engagement patterns varied by sociodemographic and psychosocial factors, with lurkers reporting better functional well-being than posters three months later.
Article Abstract
To better understand participation in computer-mediated social support (CMSS) groups for breast cancer patients, this study examines two overarching questions of (1) who are posters, lurkers, or nonusers and (2) what role do these different types of engagement play in explaining psychosocial health outcomes? This study incorporates the comprehensive model of information seeking and two competing models of social enhancement and social compensation, as well as the literature on lurking and posting behaviors in online groups to answer research questions. Our findings suggest that patterns of engagement in a CMSS group differed according to patients' sociodemographic characteristics and psychosocial factors. In addition, we found that lurkers had a higher level of perceived functional well-being than posters at 3 months post baseline. Theoretical and practical implications for effective online cancer support group campaigns are discussed.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4469645 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2013.816911 | DOI Listing |
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