The Online Communication of Social Support: Structure and Content

Social support in online self-help groups has been found to benefit participants with emotional instability or mental illness. Many studies have employed content analysis to reveal categories of social support, claiming the prevalence of emotional and informational support can aid support seekers. In these studies, optimal matching theory is used to explain the helpfulness of these types of support. This chapter argues that content analysis is unpersuasive in its claim that support seekers benefit from social support; participants' communicative behaviors should also be considered to evaluate the potential advantages and drawbacks of such groups. Drawing on a mixed-method approach of conversation analysis and content analysis, this study investigates the sequential structure and content of social support communication in six online self-help groups for anxiety and depression (OSGADs). The main findings show that optimal matching theory may not be suitable for elucidating how support seekers receive help due to the immediate provision of social support and limited interaction otherwise. The results also show that expressed understanding/empathy and advice are prominent categories of support in OSGADs, and most thread openers request support indirectly.