PMID- 19632979
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20091023
LR  - 20220318
IS  - 1438-8871 (Electronic)
IS  - 1438-8871 (Linking)
VI  - 11
IP  - 3
DP  - 2009 Jul 23
TI  - Potential benefits and harms of a peer support social network service on the 
      internet for people with depressive tendencies: qualitative content analysis and 
      social network analysis.
PG  - e29
LID - 10.2196/jmir.1142 [doi]
LID - e29
AB  - BACKGROUND: Internet peer support groups for depression are becoming popular and 
      could be affected by an increasing number of social network services (SNSs). 
      However, little is known about participant characteristics, social relationships 
      in SNSs, and the reasons for usage. In addition, the effects of SNS participation 
      on people with depression are rather unknown. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to explore 
      the potential benefits and harms of an SNS for depression based on a concurrent 
      triangulation design of mixed methods strategy, including qualitative content 
      analysis and social network analysis. METHODS: A cross-sectional Internet survey 
      of participants, which involved the collection of SNS log files and a 
      questionnaire, was conducted in an SNS for people with self-reported depressive 
      tendencies in Japan in 2007. Quantitative data, which included user demographics, 
      depressive state, and assessment of the SNS (positive vs not positive), were 
      statistically analyzed. Descriptive contents of responses to open-ended questions 
      concerning advantages and disadvantages of SNS participation were analyzed using 
      the inductive approach of qualitative content analysis. Contents were organized 
      into codes, concepts, categories, and a storyline based on the grounded theory 
      approach. Social relationships, derived from data of "friends," were analyzed 
      using social network analysis, in which network measures and the extent of 
      interpersonal association were calculated based on the social network theory. 
      Each analysis and integration of results were performed through a concurrent 
      triangulation design of mixed methods strategy. RESULTS: There were 105 
      participants. Median age was 36 years, and 51% (36/71) were male. There were 37 
      valid respondents; their number of friends and frequency of accessing the SNS 
      were significantly higher than for invalid/nonrespondents (P = .008 and P = 
      .003). Among respondents, 90% (28/31) were mildly, moderately, or severely 
      depressed. Assessment of the SNS was performed by determining the access 
      frequency of the SNS and the number of friends. Qualitative content analysis 
      indicated that user-selectable peer support could be passive, active, and/or 
      interactive based on anonymity or ease of use, and there was the potential harm 
      of a downward depressive spiral triggered by aggravated psychological burden. 
      Social network analysis revealed that users communicated one-on-one with each 
      other or in small groups (five people or less). A downward depressive spiral was 
      related to friends who were moderately or severely depressed and friends with 
      negative assessment of the SNS. CONCLUSIONS: An SNS for people with depressive 
      tendencies provides various opportunities to obtain support that meets users' 
      needs. To avoid a downward depressive spiral, we recommend that participants do 
      not use SNSs when they feel that the SNS is not user-selectable, when they get 
      egocentric comments, when friends have a negative assessment of the SNS, or when 
      they have additional psychological burden.
FAU - Takahashi, Yoshimitsu
AU  - Takahashi Y
AD  - Department of Health Informatics, Kyoto University School of Public Health, 
      Yoshida Konoe Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
FAU - Uchida, Chiyoko
AU  - Uchida C
FAU - Miyaki, Koichi
AU  - Miyaki K
FAU - Sakai, Michi
AU  - Sakai M
FAU - Shimbo, Takuro
AU  - Shimbo T
FAU - Nakayama, Takeo
AU  - Nakayama T
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20090723
PL  - Canada
TA  - J Med Internet Res
JT  - Journal of medical Internet research
JID - 100959882
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Attitude to Health
MH  - Cost of Illness
MH  - Cross-Sectional Studies
MH  - Depression/psychology/*rehabilitation
MH  - Depressive Disorder/psychology/rehabilitation
MH  - Female
MH  - Health Surveys
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Internet
MH  - Interpersonal Relations
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - *Peer Group
MH  - *Social Support
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
MH  - Young Adult
PMC - PMC2762850
COIS- None declared.
EDAT- 2009/07/28 09:00
MHDA- 2009/10/24 06:00
PMCR- 2009/07/23
CRDT- 2009/07/28 09:00
PHST- 2008/10/07 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2009/03/15 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2009/03/14 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2009/07/28 09:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2009/07/28 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2009/10/24 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2009/07/23 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - v11i3e29 [pii]
AID - 10.2196/jmir.1142 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - J Med Internet Res. 2009 Jul 23;11(3):e29. doi: 10.2196/jmir.1142.