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PART1.E-GROUPS
AZYBARAK*,ORNABONEH,ANDMICHALDOLEV-COHEN
UNIVERSITYOFHAIFA,ISRAEL
FactorsUnderlyingParticipants’GainsinOnline
SupportGroups
Introduction
Supportgroupsgobackatleasttothefirsthalfofthepreviouscentury.No
onecanpinpointexactlywhentheywereintroduced.Traditionally,itisassumed
thatgroupscloseinformtosupportgroupscurrentlyconductedface-to-face
werefirstintroducedbyAlcoholicsAnonymous(AA)intheUnitedStatesback
inthe1930s(Humphreys&Kaskutas,1995).Regardlessoftheirorigin,support
groupsgraduallybecamepopularinthemiddleofthe20thcenturyandbeganto
serveasamutual-helpdeviceformentalhealthpurposes,whetherforalcoholics,
smokers,sufferersofvariousmedicalconditions,psychiatricpatients,teensand
adultswithweightoreatingproblems,divorceesandthosegoingthroughadi-
vorce,warveterans,adolescentswithschool-orfamily-relateddifficulties,and
manymoreconditions(Bambina,2007).Socialsupportingeneralandindividual
socialsupportreceivedfromfamilymembers,friends,peers,orevenstrangers
arebelievedtoconstituteacentralresourceforgainingemotionalandmental
assistanceandreinforcement(Holahan,Moos,&Bonin,1997).Massiveresearch
–includingnumerousstudiesthathaveexaminedtheconnectioninvariousprob-
lemareasandpopulationsbetweenreceivingsocialsupportandexperiencing
changesinpersonalbehaviors–hasusuallyprovidedsupportforthisconnection
(cf.Pierce,Lakey,Sarason,&Sarason,1997).
*Thischapterisbased,inpart,onapresentationgivenatthe39thmeetingoftheSocietyforPsycho-
therapyResearch,Barcelona,Spain(2008,June).Correspondenceconcerningthisarticleshould
beaddressedtoprof.AzyBarak,DepartmentofCounseling&HumanDevelopmentDepartment
ofLearning,Instruction,&SupervisionFacultyofEducationUniversityofHaifa,MountCarmel
Haifa31905,Israel.E-mail:azy@construct.haifa.ac.il
