Online Social Support: An Effective Means of Mediating Stress

In keeping with the theory, from online social support, emerge quantitative and qualitative outcomes.  Quantitative outcomes include behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and actions that are embedded in the formation of a social network (LaCoursiete, 2001).  The qualitative outcomes are linked with awareness, interactions with nurses and other care providers, and also contribute to social network formation.  According to the OSS model, because online social support is dynamic, as a person needs more or less support and has more or less support available, the online social support system will accommodate those changing needs. So, an acute stressor will be met with increased social support.

Constructivism

Constructivism will serve as a foundation for the proposed research and in writing the research report, as the theoretical basis will allow the reader and researcher the opportunity to develop a personally relevant understanding of the material.  The central idea of constructivism is that individuals learn new things and assimilate new knowledge into the framework of previous experiences (Kivinen & Ristela, 2003).  Learning is an active and conscious process where people learn and reflect to construct meaning (Kivinen & Ristela, 2003).  As a result, through writing the present paper, I have constructed an understanding of online support groups.  Additionally, the present work stands to offer the reader an opportunity to construct a personally relevant understanding of online social support groups, and online social support.

Operational Definitions

Operational definitions are important to clarify terms for the reader (Creswell, 2003).  The purpose of operational definitions is to offer the reader clarity of understanding, as he or she reads the paper.  The following definitions are included to help the reader clearly understand the terminology in the present paper:

Internet Support Groups: Groups that are self-help, rather than therapeutic in nature are support groups (Kernsmith & Kersmith, 2008).  Groups may be managed and moderated by one or more individuals, often people who share the experience, which is the purpose of the group.  For example, in a support group for parents of children with autism will most likely have a child with autism.  The groups are conducted through the use of the internet, and are often asynchronous (Kernsmith & Kernsmith, 2008).  That is, the discussions are threaded and posts are made at the convenience of the user, rather than at the convenience of the group.  Other terms include social networks or computer mediated support groups.

Blog: This is a shortened version of “web log” (marketingterms.org, 2009).  Blogs are a personal journal or diary hosted online, kept in chronological order, and read by interested individuals (Baker & Moore, 2008).  Web logs are generally asynchronous, that is time delayed.  That is, when people write a post, at some point, it is posted for the community to read.  The posting process is not immediate, such as what happens in chat rooms.

Listservs:  Lists of email addresses are used to send out notices and messages to registered users.  Listservs may be used as the primary discussion tool, to supplement threaded discussions, or to make users aware of new posts to the discussion board.

Chat Rooms: Chat rooms are online discussions conducted over the internet in a synchronous manner.  Usually, chat rooms include groups of people who type messages, very similar to a face to face discussion.  Chat rooms are held with as few as two individuals or many more than that.  Chat rooms differ from instant messaging, in that instant messaging usually involves two people, who have the option of inviting more people, once the discussion begins.

Bulletin Boards: Internet resources that allow people to communicate asynchronously are referred to as Bulletin Boards, or BBs (Lieberman & Goldstein, 2005).  Like listservs, the discussions are not in real time; however, the posts may be made directly to the internet, rather than via email.  Users are asked to register and may receive updates through email.

What is Online Social Support?

Some research has examined various platforms of online social support, including bulletin boards, cell phones, and email. Lieberman and Goldstein (2005) presented research that explored the use of online support mechanisms, such as bulletin boards that host asynchronous, threaded discussions; they argued that individuals on the bulletin boards experience closer relationships that result from “hyperpersonal communication” (p.856).  Lieberman and Goldstein rationalized that when people put more time and thought into their communication, it may be more valuable than other forms of communication.  Interestingly, the online format also offers users a sense of anonymity, which may offer those individuals who engage in online support groups more freedom to share their potentially stigmatizing experiences, such as having a mental health problem (Mulveen & Hepworth, 2006).