Paper Info
Title
Virtual Support Communities and Psychological Well-Being: The Role of Optimistic and Pessimistic Social Comparison Strategies
Abstract
AbstractDo the beneficial or detrimental effects of CMC activity depend on the specific social comparison strategy individuals use? The present study aimed to answer this question by examining social comparison strategies, different measures of online activity within the community, and psychological well-being of users of online breast cancer support communities. Results showed that the relationship between online activity i.e., length of visits and frequency of posts and psychological well-being i.e., breast cancer related concerns and depression was determined by users' pessimistic social comparison strategy; downward identification influenced especially highly active users. Findings suggest that active CMC users should be careful not to become entrapped by negative social comparison processes.
Year
DOI
Venue
2015
10.1111/jcc4.12131
Periodicals
Keywords
Field
DocType
Support,Online Communities,Online Forums,Health,Patients,Social Science
Psychological well-being,Social psychology,Breast cancer,Psychology,Online participation,Social comparison theory,Pessimism,Multimedia
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
20
6
1083-6101
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
2
0.38
8
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Anika Batenburg140.77
enny das241.15