'They all supported me but I felt like I suddenly didn't belong anymore': An exploration of perceived disadvantages to online support seeking

Malik, Sumaira; Coulson, Neil S.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a significant rise in the number of online support communities dedicated to issues surrounding infertility. The aim of this study was to focus on investigating the perceived disadvantages of online infertility support communities from the perspective of those who access and participate in them. A total of 295 participants completed an online questionnaire about their use of online support communities. Responses were analysed using inductive content analysis. Since the majority of respondents were women, the results of the study largely reflect the experiences of the female population. Over half of the sample (57.9) reported experiencing disadvantages to online support. Content analysis revealed that the most commonly cited disadvantages were reading about negative experiences (10.9), reading about other peoples pregnancies (8.8), inaccurate information (7.8) and its addictive (5.8). These results suggest that there are many perceived disadvantages to online infertility support communities. While some of these disadvantages reflect fears commonly cited in the literature, there are also unique disadvantages associated with the experience of infertility and its treatment. The study highlights a number of important areas in which health professionals and community moderators could intervene to better support and improve the online experiences of patients experiencing infertility. © 2010 Informa UK, Ltd.

Citation

Malik, S., & Coulson, N. S. (2010). 'They all supported me but I felt like I suddenly didn't belong anymore': An exploration of perceived disadvantages to online support seeking. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 31(3), 140-149. https://doi.org/10.3109/0167482X.2010.504870

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 24, 2010
• Online Publication Date: Mar 18, 2010
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2010
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Print ISSN: 0167-482X
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-8942
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 140-149
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/0167482X.2010.504870
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3161556
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/0167482X.2010.504870