Offline Social Relationships and Online Cancer Communication: Effects of Social and Family Support on Online Social Network Building

Abstract

This study investigates howsocial support and family relationship perceptions influence breast cancer patients’ online communication networks in a computer-mediated social support (CMSS) group. To examine social interactions in the CMSS group, weidentified two types of online socialnetworks: open and targeted communication networks. The open communication network reflects group communication behaviors (i.e., one-to-many or “broadcast” communication) in which the intended audience is not specified; in contrast, thetargeted communication network reflects interpersonal discourses (i.e., one-to-one or directed communication) in which theaudience for the message is specified.The communication networks were constructed by tracking CMSS group usage data of 237 breast cancer patients who participated in one of two National Cancer Institute-funded randomized clinical trials.Eligible subjects were within 2 months of a diagnosis of primary breast cancer or recurrence at the time of recruitment. Findings reveal that breast cancer patients who perceived less availability of offline social support hada larger social network size in the open communication network.In contrast, those who perceived less family cohesionhad a larger targeted communication network in the CMSS group, meaning they were inclined to use the CMSS group for developing interpersonal relationships.

Expression and Reception: An Analytic Method for Assessing Message Production and Consumption in CMC

“…Thus, we construct online social networks with this mass or group communication approach, identifying the readers of a message regardless of its intended recipient. Namkoong and his colleagues (2016) named it an open communication network. On the other hand, members may direct specific posts to other members by referencing the intended targets in the message.…”

“…Thus, we construct online social networks with an interpersonal communication approach, analyzing the intended flow of information. This network was dubbed as a targeted communication network (Namkoong et al, 2016). In sum, the two communication networks – open and targeted – allow us to identify and distinguish two prominent communication patterns that often occur simultaneously in online discussion posts.…”

“…By identifying who read what messages, we are able to track the extent to which participants are engaged with communication, with whom and to what effect. In other words, the social network can be constructed by specifying that a person read others’ messages (in-degree) and that their messages were read by other participants (out-degree) (Namkoong et al, 2016). …”

“…In other words, the social network can be constructed by indicating that a person specifies a target in his or her messages (out-degree) and that a person is referred to as a target of the messages (in-degree). The out-degree is counted only when the targeted person actually read the message (Namkoong et al, 2016). …”

“…They also allow assessment of differences in social networking effects in terms of the content of messages exchanged in the CMSS group. In addition, this method permits calculation of a person’s network size and centrality as measures of individual-level social capital (Namkoong et al, 2016), and allows examination of the relationship between individuals’ social capital and their psychological health benefits (Namkoong, Shah, & Gustafson, 2013). …”