The Role of Communication Affordances in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Facebook and WhatsApp Support Groups

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15508388
AutoresDaphna Yeshua-Katz (0000-0001-7976-1934, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen18
Número9
Páginas4576-4576
Fecha de publicación2021-04-26
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditorialMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph18094576
PMID33925904
OpenAlexW3157681661
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas38

(1) Background: Digital health research has indicated that people with stigmatized health problems are drawn to online support groups (OSGs) because these groups help them to manage such conditions. However, little is known about how media affordances-interactions between the technology and the user-reconfigure the ways in which stigmatized individuals use OSGs and interact with others like themselves. (2) Method: The current study applied an affordance framework to evaluate how Facebook and WhatsApp support groups can help military veterans and their partners cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was based on interviews with 34 PTSD-OSG members in Israel. (3) Findings: This research identified five affordances that members appraised as enhancing their coping efforts in the digital world: visibility, availability, multimediality, surveillance, and synchronicity. (4) Conclusions: This study reveals the connection between a specific stigmatized mental health disorder (i.e., PTSD) and perceptions of communication technologies (i.e., affordances), and specifies the uses of technologies for coping with this mental health disorder. Moreover, this study may inform digital intervention designers about which communication affordances can potentially lead to better health outcomes

Affordance · Cognitive psychology · Coping (psychology · Mental health · Perception · Psychotherapist · Synchronicity · Traumatic stress · Applied Psychology · Clinical Psychology · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Mental Health via Writing · Psychology