An analysis of social support exchanges in online HIV/AIDS self-help groups

Hundreds of thousands of people sharing concerns about HIV/AIDS have taken advantage of online self-help groups to exchange resources and support. Little research so far has focused on the nature and content of actual messages exchanged by group members. To provide an in-depth understanding of social support exchanges in online HIV/AIDS self-help groups, this study identifies and analyzes the dimensions and corresponding frequencies of exchanged social support as well as the group interactions facilitating those exchanges. A total of 5000 postings created within a 1 year period were randomly selected from a selected online HIV/AIDS forum. Content analysis was then conducted to assess the types and proportions of exchanged social support. A thematic analysis of the postings that could not be categorized with the adopted coding system was performed to find further patterns of positive group interactions. The results show that information support (41.6%) and emotional support (16.0%) were exchanged most frequently, followed by network support (6.8%) and esteem support exchanges (6.4%), whereas tangible assistance was quite rare (0.8%). The authors also suggest that three types of group interactions including sharing personal experience, expression of gratitude, and offering congratulations can facilitate social support exchanges among group members.