Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice

Naslund, John A.; Bondre, Ameya; Torous, John; Aschbrenner, Kelly A.

doi:10.1007/s41347-020-00134-x

Cited by 286 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…Reciprocation and transitive closure lead us to suggest that users in online depression communities prefer to develop social ties through information interaction and mutual emotional encouragement and are also willing to form new social relationships with users who share mutual friends. The result is in accordance with the previous studies [ 55 - 57 ], proposing that these structural effects will help the diffusion of information and create an atmosphere of mutual support, as well as promote the sustainable development of online depression communities.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Development of Social Support Networks by Patients With Depression Through Online Health Communities: Social Network Analysis

Luo

Liu

2021

JMIR Med Inform

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Background In recent years, people with mental health problems are increasingly using online social networks to receive social support. For example, in online depression communities, patients can share their experiences, exchange valuable information, and receive emotional support to help them cope with their disease. Therefore, it is critical to understand how patients with depression develop online social support networks to exchange informational and emotional support. Objective Our aim in this study was to investigate which user attributes have significant effects on the formation of informational and emotional support networks in online depression communities and to further examine whether there is an association between the two social networks. Methods We used social network theory and constructed exponential random graph models to help understand the informational and emotional support networks in online depression communities. A total of 74,986 original posts were retrieved from 1077 members in an online depression community in China from April 2003 to September 2017 and the available data were extracted. An informational support network of 1077 participant nodes and 6557 arcs and an emotional support network of 1077 participant nodes and 6430 arcs were constructed to examine the endogenous (purely structural) effects and exogenous (actor-relation) effects on each support network separately, as well as the cross-network effects between the two networks. Results We found significant effects of two important structural features, reciprocity and transitivity, on the formation of both the informational support network (r=3.6247, P<.001, and r=1.6232, P<.001, respectively) and the emotional support network (r=4.4111, P<.001, and r=0.0177, P<.001, respectively). The results also showed significant effects of some individual factors on the formation of the two networks. No significant effects of homophily were found for gender (r=0.0783, P=.20, and r=0.1122, P=.25, respectively) in the informational or emotional support networks. There was no tendency for users who had great influence (r=0.3253, P=.05) or wrote more posts (r=0.3896, P=.07) or newcomers (r=–0.0452, P=.66) to form informational support ties more easily. However, users who spent more time online (r=0.6680, P<.001) or provided more replies to other posts (r=0.5026, P<.001) were more likely to form informational support ties. Users who had a big influence (r=0.8325, P<.001), spent more time online (r=0.5839, P<.001), wrote more posts (r=2.4025, P<.001), or provided more replies to other posts (r=0.2259, P<.001) were more likely to form emotional support ties, and newcomers (r=–0.4224, P<.001) were less likely than old-timers to receive emotional support. In addition, we found that there was a significant entrainment effect (r=0.7834, P<.001) and a nonsignificant exchange effect (r=–0.2757, P=.32) between the two networks. Conclusions This study makes several important theoretical contributions to the research on online depression communities and has important practical implications for the managers of online depression communities and the users involved in these communities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Development of Social Support Networks by Patients With Depression Through Online Health Communities: Social Network Analysis

Luo

Liu

2021

JMIR Med Inform

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“…Reciprocation and transitive closure lead us to suggest that users in online depression communities prefer to develop social ties through information interaction and mutual emotional encouragement and are also willing to form new social relationships with users who share mutual friends. The result is in accordance with the previous studies [55][56][57], proposing that these structural effects will help the diffusion of information and create an atmosphere of mutual support, as well as promote the sustainable development of online depression communities.…”

Section: Principal Findingssupporting

confidence: 92%

Development of Social Support Networks by Patients With Depression Through Online Health Communities: Social Network Analysis (Preprint)

Lu¹,

Luo²,

Liu³

2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND In recent years, people with mental health problems are increasingly using online social networks to receive social support. For example, in online depression communities, patients can share their experiences, exchange valuable information, and receive emotional support to help them cope with their disease. Therefore, it is critical to understand how patients with depression develop online social support networks to exchange informational and emotional support. OBJECTIVE Our aim in this study was to investigate which user attributes have significant effects on the formation of informational and emotional support networks in online depression communities and to further examine whether there is an association between the two social networks. METHODS We used social network theory and constructed exponential random graph models to help understand the informational and emotional support networks in online depression communities. A total of 74,986 original posts were retrieved from 1077 members in an online depression community in China from April 2003 to September 2017 and the available data were extracted. An informational support network of 1077 participant nodes and 6557 arcs and an emotional support network of 1077 participant nodes and 6430 arcs were constructed to examine the endogenous (purely structural) effects and exogenous (actor-relation) effects on each support network separately, as well as the cross-network effects between the two networks. RESULTS We found significant effects of two important structural features, reciprocity and transitivity, on the formation of both the informational support network (r=3.6247, P<.001, and r=1.6232, P<.001, respectively) and the emotional support network (r=4.4111, P<.001, and r=0.0177, P<.001, respectively). The results also showed significant effects of some individual factors on the formation of the two networks. No significant effects of homophily were found for gender (r=0.0783, P=.20, and r=0.1122, P=.25, respectively) in the informational or emotional support networks. There was no tendency for users who had great influence (r=0.3253, P=.05) or wrote more posts (r=0.3896, P=.07) or newcomers (r=–0.0452, P=.66) to form informational support ties more easily. However, users who spent more time online (r=0.6680, P<.001) or provided more replies to other posts (r=0.5026, P<.001) were more likely to form informational support ties. Users who had a big influence (r=0.8325, P<.001), spent more time online (r=0.5839, P<.001), wrote more posts (r=2.4025, P<.001), or provided more replies to other posts (r=0.2259, P<.001) were more likely to form emotional support ties, and newcomers (r=–0.4224, P<.001) were less likely than old-timers to receive emotional support. In addition, we found that there was a significant entrainment effect (r=0.7834, P<.001) and a nonsignificant exchange effect (r=–0.2757, P=.32) between the two networks. CONCLUSIONS This study makes several important theoretical contributions to the research on online depression communities and has important practical implications for the managers of online depression communities and the users involved in these communities.

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“…Importantly, web-based platforms offer a cost-effective [ 23 ] and scalable opportunity to deliver mental health–informed physical activity interventions to the first responders living in regional and remote settings. Social media also promotes social connectedness, which is fundamental to exercise adherence and long-term behavioral change [ 24 ]. Facebook groups have previously been used effectively to deliver behavior change interventions in both the general population and in people with serious mental illness [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Mental Health–Informed Physical Activity Intervention for First Responders and Their Partners Delivered Using Facebook: Mixed Methods Pilot Study

McKeon¹,

Steel²,

Wells³

et al. 2021

JMIR Form Res

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Background First responders (eg, police, firefighters, and paramedics) are at high risk of experiencing poor mental health. Physical activity interventions can help reduce symptoms and improve mental health in this group. More research is needed to evaluate accessible, low-cost methods of delivering programs. Social media may be a potential platform for delivering group-based physical activity interventions. Objective This study aims to examine the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a mental health–informed physical activity program for first responders and their self-nominated support partners. This study also aims to assess the feasibility of applying a novel multiple time series design and to explore the impact of the intervention on mental health symptoms, sleep quality, quality of life, and physical activity levels. Methods We co-designed a 10-week web-based physical activity program delivered via a private Facebook group. We provided education and motivation around different topics weekly (eg, goal setting, overcoming barriers to exercise, and reducing sedentary behavior) and provided participants with a Fitbit. A multiple time series design was applied to assess psychological distress levels, with participants acting as their own control before the intervention. Results In total, 24 participants (12 first responders and 12 nominated support partners) were recruited, and 21 (88%) completed the postassessment questionnaires. High acceptability was observed in the qualitative interviews. Exploratory analyses revealed significant reductions in psychological distress during the intervention. Preintervention and postintervention analysis showed significant improvements in quality of life (P=.001; Cohen d=0.60); total depression, anxiety, and stress scores (P=.047; Cohen d=0.35); and minutes of walking (P=.04; Cohen d=0.55). Changes in perceived social support from family (P=.07; Cohen d=0.37), friends (P=.10; Cohen d=0.38), and sleep quality (P=.28; Cohen d=0.19) were not significant. Conclusions The results provide preliminary support for the use of social media and a multiple time series design to deliver mental health–informed physical activity interventions for first responders and their support partners. Therefore, an adequately powered trial is required. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN): 12618001267246; https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12618001267246.

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Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice

Cited by 286 publications

References 101 publications

Development of Social Support Networks by Patients With Depression Through Online Health Communities: Social Network Analysis

Development of Social Support Networks by Patients With Depression Through Online Health Communities: Social Network Analysis

Development of Social Support Networks by Patients With Depression Through Online Health Communities: Social Network Analysis (Preprint)

A Mental Health–Informed Physical Activity Intervention for First Responders and Their Partners Delivered Using Facebook: Mixed Methods Pilot Study

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