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Mirroring, monitoring, modelling, belonging, and distancing: Psychosocial processes in an online support group of breast cancer patients
Author(s) -
Montali Lorenzo,
Zulato Edoardo,
Frigerio Alessandra,
Frangi Elisa,
Camussi Elisabetta
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22696
Subject(s) - mirroring , psychosocial , thematic analysis , empowerment , online community , breast cancer , distancing , support group , psychology , virtual community , the internet , online discussion , social psychology , medicine , cancer , computer science , world wide web , disease , qualitative research , sociology , psychotherapist , covid-19 , political science , social science , psychiatry , law , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Breast cancer patients are primary users of Internet Health Forums, virtual self‐help communities where they find and share information, preoccupations, and support. Previous literature has mainly focused on analysing the contents and the outcomes of breast cancer forums' participation. In light of the Community of Practice theoretical model, our research investigated the psychosocial processes that build and shape patients' experience and participation in the forum. We conducted 16 semi‐structured email interviews with breast cancer patients recruited within a well‐established online community. Thematic analysis identified five processes—mirroring, monitoring, modelling, belonging, and distancing—that marked three phases of users' experience: initiation, participation, detachment. An interactive dynamic characterised the identified processes: the disease's experience was shaped by and, in turn, it crafted this virtual community. These community processes contributed to participants' empowerment at practical, informative, and emotional levels through the development of a shared repertoire of resources, stories, and ways of dealing with patients' recurring problems.