On‐line support groups: An investigation of relationships among source credibility, dimensions of relational communication, and perceptions of emotional support
Communication Research ReportsPublished 1 March 2002
Kristen Campbell, Kevin B. Wright
Citations38
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score0.68
SNIP0.80
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
Abstract
This study examined perceptions of dimensions of relational communication, source credibility, and emotional support among (N = 94) on‐line support group users. The results indicated there was a positive relationship between emotional support and immediacy, similarity, receptivity and equality. Emotional support were negatively related to dominance, and formality. Finally, perceptions of source credibility were also related to perceptions of emotional support and perceptions of relational communication.
Keywords
PsychologySocial Sciences
Communication ResearchComputer-Mediated Communication
4,704 Citations1996Joseph B. Walther
Recognizing that impersonal communication is sometimes advantageous, strategies for the intentional depersonalization of media use are inferred and a new perspective on “hyperpersonal” communication is introduced.
Social support: An interactional view.
2,651 Citations1990Barbara R. Sarason, Irwin G. Sarason +1 more
American Journal of SociologyDifferent Strokes from Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support
1,996 Citations1990Barry Wellman, Scot Wortley
A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems
1,318 Citations2009Teresa L. Scheid, Tony N. Brown
It is tested whether significant differences in mental illness exist in a matched sample of Mental illness and the criminal justice system.
Annual Review of SociologyComputer Networks as Social Networks: Collaborative Work, Telework, and Virtual Community
1,150 Citations1996Barry Wellman, Janet W. Salaff +4 more
CSSNs accomplish a wide variety of cooperative work, connecting workers within and between organizations who are often physically dispersed, and link teleworkers from their homes or remote work centers to main organi...
Human Communication ResearchRelational Communication in Computer-Mediated Interaction
986 Citations1992Joseph B. Walther, Judee K. Burgoon
Results showed that computer-mediated groups increased in several relational dimensions to more positive levels, and that these subsequent levels approximated those of face-to-face groups.
Medical Entomology and ZoologyNonverbal communication : the unspoken dialogue
654 Citations1994Judee K. Burgoon, David B. Buller +1 more
Health CommunicationCommunication of Social Support in Computer-Mediated Groups for People With Disabilities
537 Citations1999Dawn O. Braithwaite, Vincent R. Waldron +1 more
It appeared that many of the support messages directly redressed limitations and challenges associated with disability-related mobility, socialization, and self-care as well as the unique features of social support in mediated environments.
Communication MonographsValidation and measurement of the fundamental themes of relational communication
500 Citations1987Judee K. Burgoon, Jerold L. Hale
Human Communication ResearchAnticipated Ongoing Interaction Versus Channel Effects on Relational Communication in Computer-Mediated Interaction
453 Citations1994Joseph B. Walther
Results show that the assignment of long-term versus short-term partnerships has a larger impact on anticipated future interaction reported by computer-mediated, rather than face-to-face, partners, and evidence shows that anticipation is a more potent predictor of several relational communication dimensions than is communication condition.
Journal of CommunicationComputer-Mediated Social Support, Older Adults, and Coping
331 Citations2000Kevin B. Wright
The results indicate that direct action was the most common coping strategy for the sample and greater involvement with the on-line community was predictive of lower perceived life stress.
Journal of Social IssuesSocial Interaction and Social Support
315 Citations1984Marybeth Shinn, Stanley Lehmann +1 more
Health & Social WorkAn Exploration of Helping Processes in an Online Self-Help Group Focusing on Issues of Disability
309 Citations1999Jerry Finn
The study found that the group provided many of the processes used in face-to-face self-help and mutual aid groups, with an emphasis on mutual problem solving, information sharing, expression of feelings, catharsis, and mutual support and empathy.
Patient Education and CounselingPatient-physician communication: A descriptive summary of the literature
285 Citations1988Debra Roter, Judith A. Hall +1 more
This paper summarizes the results of 61 independent studies containing descriptive variables from objectively measured medical encounters, identified and grouped a priori, through a process of consensual validation, into six broad categories of communication process variables: information-giving, information-seeking, partnership-building, social conversation, positive talk and negative talk.
Computers in Human BehaviorThe analysis of an electronic support group for individuals with eating disorders
276 Citations1997Andrew J. Winzelberg
The majority of members participated in the group during the evening and late night at a time when traditional sources of support have limited availability or are not available, and used the same assistance strategies as do face-to-face support group members.
Communication QuarterlyPerceptions of on‐line support providers: An examination of perceived homophily, source credibility, communication and social support within on‐line support groups
204 Citations2000Kevin B. Wright
The study examined perceptions of support providers, social support network size and network satisfaction, and the advantages and disadvantages of computer‐mediated support groups among on‐line support group users to indicate that the amount of time a person spent communicating within these groups and the number of messages received was related to support group network sizeand network satisfaction.
Computers in Human BehaviorThe impact of computer-mediated communication on self-awareness
183 Citations1988Kimberly Matheson, Mark P. Zanna
It was found that, relative to the face-to-face comparison group, subjects using computer-mediation reported significantly higher levels of acute private self- awareness, and marginally lower levels of public self-awareness.
Choice Reviews OnlineThe Internet and health communication: experience and expectations
140 Citations2001
This review examines the role of the Internet and Health Communication in the success of Web-Based Continuing Medical Education Programs in the United States and the evolution of online health communities andorganizations moving to e-COMMERCE.
Social Work With GroupsComputer-Based Self-Help Groups for Sexual Abuse Survivors
136 Citations1994Jerry Finn, Melissa Lavitt
Computer- based CSHMA groups for sex abuse survivors include providing greater access to support, diffusing dependency needs, meeting the needs of those with esoteric concerns, reducing barriers related to social status cues, encouraging participation of reluctant members, promoting relational communication, and enhancing communication of Those with interpersonal difficult~es.
Social Work With GroupsComputer-Mediated Support Groups
85 Citations1995Nancy Weinberg, John D. Schmale +2 more
The advantages and disadvantages of computer-mediated support groups are reviewed, how to set up this type of group is described, and a computer support group set up for cancer patients is used as an example.
Medical Entomology and ZoologyRelational Communication: Continuity and Change in Personal Relationships
73 Citations1994Julia T. Wood
Communication Research ReportsConstruction and validation of a communication based emotional support scale
66 Citations1996Keith Weber, Brian R. Patterson
The Talk of the Clinic
58 Citations2013
This chapter discussesTherapy and Conversations About Therapy, and the Discourse of Medical Care, and Implications of Relational Communication for Therapeutic Discourse.
Communication QuarterlyCommunicating social support: Identifying supportive episodes in an HIV/AIDS support group
44 Citations1995Carol Stringer Cawyer, Athena A. Smith-Dupre
Ethnographic observations are used to describe supportive episodes in an HIV/AIDS support group and the role of social support for group members and the notions of over support and omitted support are identified as directions for future research.
Research on Social Work PracticeCancer Support Groups: Client Outcome and the Context of Group Process
44 Citations1999Randy H. Magen, Myra Glajchen
The results show the need to identify both the outcome and process of support group participation as well as establish an empirical link between the two.
Journal of Health CommunicationShared Ideology in Alcoholics Anonymous: A Grounded Theory Approach
42 Citations1997KEVIN B. W RIGHT
Ground theory is used to explore the shared ideology espoused in Alcoholics Anonymous, specifically the nature and role of shared ideology in increasing the efficacy of the recovery process, and the features of the group's tenets and meetings that help facilitate members' indoctrination.
Journal of Applied Communication ResearchIndividual and structural influences on information technology helping relationships
38 Citations1999Ronald E. Rice, Lori Collins‐Jarvis +1 more
It is proposed that two types of factors influence the formation of information technology helping relationships: individual and structural.
Communication QuarterlyThe circle of others: Self‐help groups for the bereaved
27 Citations1986Gayle G. Cluck, Rebecca J. Cline