Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
FactorsUnderlyingParticipants’GainsinOnlineSupportGroups
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arareordangerousdisease,goingthroughverydifficultfamilysituation),usually
havefewornootherswhomightgenuinelyandempatheticallylistentothem;
hence,havingotherswithasimilardifficultyandneedsenablesnaturalsharing
andattention.Forexample,thechildrenofaparentwhocommittedsuicidemight
notopenupandshareinternalthoughtsandfeelingswithothers;however,shar-
ingtheirfearful,depressive,andloneliness-relatedemotionsandthoughtsinan
onlinesupportgroupwithotherchildrenwhoshareasimilarexperienceisof
muchvalue(Mitchell,Wesner,Garand,DysartGale,Havill,&Brownson,2007).
Personalexperiencesrelatedtosharingaredifferentfromthoserelatedto
universalityorreceivingpersonalrecognition.Throughsharing,individualsnot
onlyfeeltheyarelikeothers(i.e.,universality)orhaveavalueintheeyesof
others(i.e.,recognition),buttheyalsohavetheuniqueopportunitytoengage
othersintheirintimateexperiencesbycommunicatingopenlyinthegroup.
ExperiencingAmusementandFun
Havingasecuresocialenvironment,populatedwithpeoplewhosharesimilar
difficulties,providesanopportunityforhavingsomefundespitethegeneral
moodtypicalofonlinesupportgroups.Thisfactorshouldnotbedepreciated,as
enjoymentandpleasurearenaturalpsychologicalneedsandtheirsatisfaction
maycontributetoone’swell-being.Manypeopleindistressfinditdifficultto
havefunwithpeersintheirofflineenvironment,astheyareoftenreferredtodif-
ferently,andthereforetheyconsistentlyfeelthatwaythemselves.Membersof
onlinesupportgroupsregularlysharejokesandfunnystories,aswellaslinksto
amusingandgamesites,andsoprofitfromthelighteratmospherecreatedinthe
group,alongsideproblem-orientedmessages.Obviously,suchexperiencespro-
videsomereliefandreducetensions.
Motivation,Involvement,andCommitmentFactors
Typicalquestionsrelatedtoonlinesupportgroupsincludethefollowing:Do
participantsactuallyreceivesupport?Whatkindofparticipantbenefitsthemost?
Whatcharacterizeparticipantswhohavebeenhelpedasopposedtothosewho
havenot?Whatcharacterizesasuccessfulonlinesupportgroup?
Intheprevioussection,tendistinctprocesseswereidentifiedasthosethat
dynamicallyoperateandcreatepersonalgainsbyempoweringgrouppartici-
pantsandfacilitatingtheirgeneralfeelingofwell-being.Theoperationofthese
processesalone,however,isinsufficient,astheparticipants’motivationand
