Characterizing online social support for alcohol use disorder: A mixed‐methods approach

Abstract

BackgroundOnline social media communities are increasingly popular venues for discussing alcohol use disorder (AUD) and recovery. Little is known about distinct contexts of social support that are exchanged in this milieu, which are critical to understanding the social dynamics of online recovery support.MethodsWe randomly selected one post per day over the span of a year from the StopDrinking recovery forum. Direct responses to posts were double coded within an established theoretical framework of social support. Within a mixed‐methods research framework, we quantified the linguistic characteristics of 1386 responses (i.e., text length, complexity, and sentiment) and qualitatively explored themes within and among different types of social support.ResultsEmotional support was most prevalent (74% of responses) and appeared as the sole form of support in 38% of responses. Emotionally supportive responses were significantly shorter, less complex, and more positively valenced than other support types. Appraisal support was also common in 55% of responses, while informational support was identified in only 17%. There was substantial overlap among support types, with 40% of responses including two or more types. Salient themes included the common use of community‐specific acronyms in emotional support. Appraisal support conveyed feedback about attitudes and behaviors that are perceived as (un‐) favorable for AUD recovery. Informational support responses were composed primarily of recommendations for self‐help literature, clinical treatment approaches, and peer recovery programs.ConclusionsSocial support in this sample was primarily emotional in nature, with other types of support included to provide feedback and guidance (i.e., appraisal support) and supplemental recovery resources (i.e., informational support). The provided social support framework can be helpful in characterizing community dynamics among heterogeneous online AUD recovery support forums. This framework could also be helpful in considering changes in support approaches that correspond to progress in recovery.

Characteristics and engagement among English-language online forums for addiction recovery available in the US

“…While engagement metrics do not account for specific types of social support that may be helpful in recovery, further research should focus on how different platforms or forums are amenable to different types of support (e.g., informational support on Quora, emotional support on Reddit). A study by Colditz et al (2023) confirmed the presence and overlap of distinct subtypes of social support on the r/StopDrinking forum, and quantifying these may provide additionally useful metrics of engagement.…”

Web-Based Forums for People Experiencing Substance Use or Gambling Disorders: Scoping Review

“…Reporting of the characteristics of web-based peer-supported forum users in the included studies varied. Due to the use of either anonymous posts or web-scraping for data collection, the authors of 5 of the studies provided no demographic information [ 24 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 32 ]. Results from studies that did report demographic data (n=9 [ 11 , 12 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 33 ]) suggest forum users were typically women, aged between 40 years and early 50 years (reported median age range 41.5-50.8 years).…”

“…Colditz et al (2023) [32] Forum users created posts to request help in relation to usually, but occasionally their relative's, problems with codeine use and self-reported addiction. Positive and negative descriptions of side effects, problems experiencing withdrawal, and failed attempts to discontinue use were reported.…”

“…Participation in the web-based peer-supported forums, in terms of patterns of use and information sought, varied between the 14 studies. Some authors described forum participation quantitatively such as the number of users (n=7 [12,[25][26][27]29,30,33]), number of posts (n=7 [24][25][26][27]29,32,33]), length of time per visit (n=3 [22,23,30]), and frequency of use (n=2 [22,23]).…”

“…Carah et al (2017) [2]; Black et al (2020) [28]; Kirkman et al (2018) [30] Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) Social support: emotional, appraisal, informational, instrumental Colditz et al (2023) [32] r∕StopDrinking Recovery through exposure to relatable role models, enhancing motivation and strengthening identity and self-efficacy. Most resources were grounded in 12-step mutual help philosophy.…”