Understanding how adolescents and young adults with cancer talk about needs in online and face-to-face support groups

Abstract

We compared adolescent and young adult cancer patient and survivor language between mediated and face-to-face support communities in order to understand how the use of certain words frame conversations about family, friends, health, work, achievement, and leisure. We analyzed transcripts from an online discussion board ( N = 360) and face-to-face support group ( N = 569) for adolescent and young adults using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, a word-based computerized text analysis software that counts the frequency of words and word stems. There were significant differences between the online and face-to-face support groups in terms of content (e.g. friends, health) and style words (e.g. verb tense, negative emotion, and cognitive process).

Masculine norms about emotionality and social constraints in young and older adult men with cancer

“…There is a tendency for young adult men to receive support from individuals who are struggling with similar concerns by engaging in online activities. In fact, qualitative findings from young adult men with cancer demonstrate that they are more open to talking about cancer-related concerns on an online platform than in face-to-face conversations (Love et al, 2014; Thompson et al, 2015). Comparisons between young adult online cancer support groups and face-to-face support groups showed significant differences in mean word frequencies for words related to anger, sadness, causation, and inhibition (Thompson et al, 2015).…”

Hanging by a thread: exploring the features of nonresponse in an online young adult cancer survivorship support community

“…Matthews and colleagues [65] found several topics of disclosure, such as sex, psychological problems, and family relationships, to be deemed as highly personal by YAs, and online support communities may be less risky environments to discuss these topics [66]. Additionally, Thompson and colleagues [66] found that family-related word usage in online cancer survivorship communities was positively correlated with future tense verbs, something that was also associated with nonresponse in the present study. It may be that users are using future tense to speak about their family issues and may not be getting replies.…”

Relational processes and psychological adjustment among young adults with cancer: The role of technology‐related communication

“…These types of platforms allow young adults to interact with their peers and support network as well as with other cancer patients about their diagnosis and its impact on their lives without needing to be in the same physical space . Indeed, studies have started to analyze narrative content and structure of online young adult cancer social support groups . One study comparing across an online social support group and a face‐to‐face communication group found that content expressed online contains greater expression of anger and sadness and more references to friends and sexual topics compared with face‐to‐face communication whereby more positive emotion was expressed .…”

“…Indeed, studies have started to analyze narrative content and structure of online young adult cancer social support groups . One study comparing across an online social support group and a face‐to‐face communication group found that content expressed online contains greater expression of anger and sadness and more references to friends and sexual topics compared with face‐to‐face communication whereby more positive emotion was expressed . However, research examining the effectiveness of eliciting social support through technology‐related communication is limited, and results are mixed; majority of this work has focused on the impact of text messaging suggesting that texting specifically is associated with a greater sense of connection and satisfaction in close relationships …”