Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4937833 | Computers in Human Behavior | 2016 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Celebrity health events can have a positive effect on public health education and awareness, in part because people spread health information related to the celebrity on social network sites. This may be particularly true in the event of celebrity deaths or other tragedies, when social network sites provide a convenient, public space to connect with others to mourn. However, little is understood about the circumstances that encourage health information sharing following these events. Using a Mechanical Turk sample (NÂ =Â 281), this study employed a questionnaire to examine the role of parasocial attachment to Robin Williams and experienced grief following his suicide in explaining health information sharing on social network sites (i.e., sharing information about clinical depression, suicide prevention, substance abuse treatment, and Parkinson's disease). Grief mediated the effect of parasocial attachment on health information sharing, but a moderated mediation analysis revealed that grief motivated health education on social network sites only for individuals who were coping by trying to find positive meaning in his death.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Computer Science
Computer Science Applications
Authors
Elizabeth L. Cohen, Cynthia Hoffner,