Perceived Stress in Online Prostate Cancer Community Participants: Examining Relationships with Stigmatization, Social Support Network Preference, and Social Support Seeking

Abstract

Men with prostate cancer often need social support to help them cope with illness-related physiological and psychosocial challenges. Whether those needs are met depends on receiving support optimally matched to their needs. This study examined relationships between perceived stress, prostate cancer-related stigma, weak-tie support preference, and online community use for social support in a survey of online prostate cancer community participants (n = 149). Findings revealed a positive relationship between stigma and perceived stress. This relationship, however, was moderated by weak-tie support preference and online community use for social support. Specifically, stigma was positively related to perceived stress when weak-tie support was preferred. Analyses also showed a positive relationship between stigma and perceived stress in those who used their online community for advice or emotional support. Health communication scholars should work collaboratively with diagnosed men, clinicians, and online community administrators to develop online interventions that optimally match social support needs.

Lay people's psychological reactions and helping intention after friends’ cancer disclosure: An exploratory analysis using vignettes

“…Lay people's negative attitudes to cancer may impede cancer survivors’ help‐seeking behaviours and self‐disclosure (Tsuchiya, Horn, & Ingham, ). Perceived and enacted rejection or social stigma, if accepted by cancer survivors, may lead to their lower self‐esteem (Chambers et al, ; Fife & Wright, ), higher stress (Rising, Bol, Burke‐Garcia, Rains, & Wright, ), poor psychological resources, depression (Lebel et al, ; Phelan et al, ) or deterioration of quality of life (Cataldo, Jahan, & Pongquan, ; Tsuchiya, Horn, & Ingham, ). As a result, cancer survivors may fear further rejection from people in social network (Blumer, ; Charon, ; Goffman, ; Hamann et al, ) and may not talk about their illness, and consequently, their social support network may be diminished (Fife & Wright, ), and social support may not be adequately provided (Ettridge et al, ).…”

The Role of Online Discussion Forums in Newcomers' Labour Market Integration in Canada

“…This study also expands our understanding of online communities (e.g., Armstrong et al, 2012;Chu, 2009;Flickinger et al, 2017;Oh et al, 2014;Rising et al, 2017;Sheng and Hartono, 2015;Yang et al, 2017) by articulating the difference between online exchange spaces and communities. This distinction is important because we often assume online groups to be communities, but that is not necessarily the case.…”

“…Online communities form closely around specific topics of interests (e.g., diabetes, smoking, fertility) and they involve online interactions of individuals with specific knowledge on the topics of interest (Haythornthwaite et al, 2000;Jansen and Saint Onge, 2015;Oh et al, 2014;Zhang, 2010). A typical online community consist of group identity, symmetry of knowledge, and continuous interactions (Armstrong et al, 2012;Flickinger et al, 2017;Oh et al, 2014;Rising et al, 2017;Sheng and Hartono, 2015;Yang et al, 2017), which are discussed below.…”

“…Research in the context of health suggests that computer mediated communications facilitate the social support seeking process by providing an environment where individuals seeking support feel more comfortable and less stigmatized (e.g., HIV patients) when requesting support (as they can communicate anonymously and remotely) (Caplan and Turner, 2007;Flickinger et al, 2017;Moore and Ayers, 2017;Rains and Wright, 2016;Rising et al, 2017;Vanable et al, 2006). This study could not examine the role of stigma on newcomers' interactions with the collected data.…”

“…However, analysis and findings in this study suggest that, in the context of newcomers' labour market integration, online discussion forums function more like online exchanges (online exchanges are discussed in section 5.3). Strong group identity, symmetry of knowledge among members, and continuity of interactions are important characteristics of online communities (Figer, 2014;Flickinger et al, 2017;Rising et al, 2017;Sheng and Hartono, 2015;Yang et al, 2017). For instance, Figer (2014) examined online discussion forum interactions of migrants who already migrated to Japan and came from the same country.…”