Online lotgenotencontactgroepen: de aantrekkingskracht van steun via het internet

Abstract

Online social support groups: The appeal of support via the Internet This study investigates what it is in health-related forums that attracts people to make use of them, and how people feel that using these forums helps them in coping with the situation they are facing. Results are based on an online questionnaire (N = 166) among users of a variety of health forums. Findings show that features that are often mentioned in literature on computer-mediated communication (i.e., the anonymity it affords, the text-based character it has, and the possibility it offers to network expansion) are recognized, but appreciated differently by users that vary in the degree to which they perceive to suffer from a stigmatized condition or are restricted in their mobility. Stigmatization is related to appreciation of anonymity, and restriction of mobility to network expansion.