Factors Underlying Engagement in Facebook Support Groups of Female Infertility Patients

Bibliographic Data

ID13664246
AuthorsTali Gazit (0000-0001-6849-0817, Bar-Ilan University, corresponding author), Yair Amichai-Hamburger (The Research Centre for Internet Psychology, Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC), Herzliya, Israel), Yair Amichai‐hamburger (0000-0003-3826-9737, Reichman University)
Year2020
Volume124
Issue3
Pages1150-1173
Publication date2020-06-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychological Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0033294120934703
PMID32597374
OpenAlexW3037483243
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited63

Women dealing with infertility issues may well undergo a long process of treatments and they are also likely to feel empty, defective, inadequate and worthless. Some of these women join online support groups in order to share their experiences, get information and ease their pain. One important positive phenomenon of the Internet is the advent of online support groups. These are designed to foster well-being and increased social interaction, and to offer 24/7 availability with no geographical restrictions. This study, comprising 191 female participants who answered an online survey, focused on closed Facebook support groups, the members of which were women undergoing treatments for infertility. The study examined to what extent the degree of engagement by these women in online support groups could be predicted by external factors (family status, social and family support, the importance of the group and the duration of membership) and internal factors (extroversion, openness to experience, subjective happiness and loneliness). Findings show that higher levels of engagement in such Facebook support groups are predicted by the external factors, including having a child, longer duration of membership in the group, family support and the strongest predictor, perception of the group as important. Findings also show that higher levels of engagement in these groups are predicted by internal factors extroversion and openness to experience, as was found in previous studies of other populations. Results and future research are discussed

Big Five personality traits · Developmental psychology · Extraversion and introversion · Family support · Happiness · Infertility · Loneliness · Openness to experience · Personality · Pregnancy · Social support · Support group · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Clinical Psychology · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology

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