poster

Social Support is Contagious: Exploring the Effect of Social Support in Online Mental Health Communities

Authors:

Yang XuAuthors Info & Claims

CHI EA '21: Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Article No.: 286, Pages 1 - 6

https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3451644

Published: 08 May 2021 Publication History

Abstract

It is known that social support is beneficial for mental health. With the development of social media, social support could also influence the development of online mental health communities. However, few studies examined these effects from the perspective of online mental health communities. This study focused on 22 mental health related subreddits and conducted causal analysis by matching and comparing users (1) who received social support with who did not receive social support; (2) who received positive social support with who received negative social support. The results shows that social support is “contagious”: users who received social support on their first post would be more likely and quickly to post again and provide support for others; users who received positive support would also provide more positive social support for others in the future. Our findings indicate the potential chain reaction of social support. This study also provides insights into how online mental health communities can better facilitate people to spread social support and deal with mental problems.

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Cited By

Wang DEng JTurpitka MEpstein D(2024)Exploring Activity-Sharing Response Differences Between Broad-Purpose and Dedicated Online Social PlatformsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36868988:CSCW2(1-37)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3686898
Wani AJoshi INahvi NSingh P(2024)"Unrest and trauma stays with you!": Navigating mental health and professional service-seeking in KashmirProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642507(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Ye JYe GZhao DZhong WChen X(2024)Design and Implementation of Interactive Platform for Mental Health Promotion Based on Mobile InternetMultimedia Technology and Enhanced Learning10.1007/978-3-031-50571-3_4(41-49)Online publication date: 21-Feb-2024
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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI EA '21: Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 2021

2965 pages

ISBN:9781450380959

DOI:10.1145/3411763

Editors:
Yoshifumi Kitamura
Tohoku University, Japan
,
Aaron Quigley
University of New South Wales, Australia
,
Katherine Isbister
University of California Santa Cruz, USA
,
Takeo Igarashi
The University of Tokyo, Japan

Copyright © 2021 ACM.

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Published: 08 May 2021

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Cited By

Wang DEng JTurpitka MEpstein D(2024)Exploring Activity-Sharing Response Differences Between Broad-Purpose and Dedicated Online Social PlatformsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36868988:CSCW2(1-37)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3686898
Wani AJoshi INahvi NSingh P(2024)"Unrest and trauma stays with you!": Navigating mental health and professional service-seeking in KashmirProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642507(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642507
Ye JYe GZhao DZhong WChen X(2024)Design and Implementation of Interactive Platform for Mental Health Promotion Based on Mobile InternetMultimedia Technology and Enhanced Learning10.1007/978-3-031-50571-3_4(41-49)Online publication date: 21-Feb-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50571-3_4
Xu TYu JDoyle DVoida S(2023)Technology-Mediated Strategies for Coping with Mental Health Challenges: Insights from People with Bipolar DisorderProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36100317:CSCW2(1-31)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3610031
Kim MSaha KDe Choudhury MChoi D(2023)Supporters First: Understanding Online Social Support on Mental Health from a Supporter PerspectiveProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35795257:CSCW1(1-28)Online publication date: 16-Apr-2023
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Sackitey DO'Leary TPaasche-Orlow MBickmore TParker A(2023)"Everyone is Covered": Exploring the Role of Online Interactions in Facilitating Connection and Social Support in Black ChurchesProceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544548.3581324(1-17)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
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Reid EMandryk RBeres NKlarkowski MFrommel J(2022)Feeling Good and In Control: In-game Tools to Support Targets of ToxicityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35494986:CHI PLAY(1-27)Online publication date: 31-Oct-2022
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