Qualitative Analysis of Interactions on an Online Discussion Forum for Young People with Experience of Romantic Relationship Breakup

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to use qualitative analysis to examine the ways in which young people with experience of romantic relationship breakup interact with each other on an Internet-mediated discussion forum and to ascertain the function of the interactions. Participants were 31 registered forum users and 10 forum moderators. Findings were based on content analysis of 238 messages posted across 28 distinct discussion threads over 12 consecutive months. Nine different types of interaction were identified. In each case the function of the interaction was identified (e.g., to relay personal experiences or solicit opinions of others) and illustrated using quotations from the data set. Online discussion forums that are facilitated by trained moderators offer a safe space for young people to disclose personal information and express their emotions in respect of romantic relationship breakup. Online interactions are rich in empathy and peer support is evident among visitors to such forums.

Introduction

Romantic relationships play a central role in young people's lives for reasons, including the need for intimacy and the desire to achieve developmental goals.¹ In adolescence and early adulthood, these relationships are usually short-lived.^2–6 The ending of romantic relationships is associated with severe distress for some young people.^7–10 Research on support derived by young people affected by breakup on Internet-mediated forums is lacking despite the number of young people increasingly seeking advice on romantic relationship issues through online platforms.^11,12

The past two decades have seen widespread use and benefits such as peer support associated with Internet-mediated support groups for individuals coping with difficult life events.¹³ Personal and interpersonal dynamics are shown to affect the experience of participants in online forums. These dynamics are mediated by the disinhibition effect of online interactions and they are expressed in emoting, the experience of writing online, the gathering of information, the development of social relationships, the enhancement of decision-making skills, and consequent behavior outcomes. These same factors are associated with improvements in well-being, sense of control, self-confidence, independence, social interactions, and feelings.¹⁴ Participation has potential costs also. Young people may encounter sexual predation, racism, and hate messages and there is a possibility that peer communication is reinforced at the expense of communication with other members of the young person's support network such as parents. This may have negative consequences on family dynamics.¹⁵

Distinct from online forums that are set up with the explicit aim of providing support and to enable discussion among users are social networking sites (SNSs). Of particular interest to the present study are studies of SNSs and romantic relationship breakup.^16,17 LeFebvre¹⁶ analyzed behaviors of 208 Facebook users recruited from a diverse North American university. The authors found that certain behaviors are amplified and altered by the unique features of Internet-mediated communication, such as the ability to conduct surveillance of one's former partner, engage social network support, and practice virtual mourning.

Research shows that some people use SNSs such as Facebook to communicate their experience of breakup; however, no studies of online forum setup specifically for young people affected by breakup were identified in the current literature review. The aim of the current study was to use descriptive (content) analysis to examine for the first time the ways in which young people interact in an online forum setup specifically to support young people with experience of breakup and to determine the functions of these behaviors.

Methods

Research design

The present study used qualitative analysis to examine messages posted on an online-moderated discussion forum. An Internet-mediated research approach using an asynchronous discussion forum (i.e., messages were exchanged over time rather than back and forth simultaneously) was taken because it was accessible to young people and offered a safe, anonymous, and nonthreatening environment in which they could interact, reflect, and contribute candidly over an extended period of time and of their own volition.^18–20 The time and place independence of the asynchronous forum can also foster more depth and peer responsiveness than synchronous discussions.²¹ The approach was cost- and time-efficient and provided for ready access to a geographically diverse sample, which in turn facilitated access to the population under investigation, namely, young people affected by romantic relationship dissolution.²²

Participants and sampling

Participants were 31 registered users of SpunOut.ie and 10 Moderators/Administrators. To join SpunOut.ie registration is required, which is free of charge. The Web site is developed and managed by the youth-led Community Creations charity, is endorsed by key youth, health, and community bodies, and receives funding from a range of public, private, and philanthropic sources. The Web site is updated daily, promoted nationally, and reaches more than 36,000 unique users per month. Registered users of SpunOut.ie are predominantly young people in Ireland between the ages of 16 and 25 years inclusive. However, given the accessible nature of Internet-mediated research, it was possible that individuals outside of the specified age range contributed to the forum. Threads were available to nonusers, however, the use of specific usernames by forum users ensured anonymity if desired.

The Internet-mediated approach taken in the current study meant that it was not possible to confirm participants' ages or gender. Moderators/Administrators ranged in age from 25 to 31 years with a gender ratio of 4:1 (females:males). Moderators were either volunteers or part-time SpunOut.ie staff; Administrators were members of SpunOut.ie staff. Moderators' training comprises a formal 2-hour training session with a member of SpunOut staff and attendance at a 2-day workshop on applied suicide intervention skills training (ASIST) (www.nosp.ie/ html/training.html).

For the sake of expedience, registered users are referred heretofore as Visitors; Moderators/Administrators are collectively referred to as Moderators. More generally, those who contribute to the forum are known collectively as forum users.

It has been reported that 86% of Irish 16–29-year olds use the Internet on a daily basis.²³ Therefore, although it was not possible to verify personal details supplied by participants in the registration process, it would seem reasonable to theorize that the aggregate characteristics of the study sample are likely to be representative of the wider population.²⁴

Procedure

A short video recording in which the investigator outlined briefly the rationale for the study and the means by which young people could participate was uploaded to Youtube.²⁵ The video was also accessible via an electronic link on the Project Breakup forum on SpunOut.ie. Posted in plain view on the Project Breakup forum was a thread containing detailed written information pertaining to the aim of the study and the nature of participation, including issues such as the voluntary nature of participation, anonymity, and potential risks of participating. Participants were informed that unless an exception was explicitly stated in the course of a contribution to the discussion forum, there was an understanding that users consented to the inclusion of their contributions in the research. A provision was made to exclude posts by forum users who might object retrospectively to the inclusion of their contributions in the study, although this did not feature in the current study.

Data collection

Data comprised all contributions to the Project Breakup discussion forum by registered users of SpunOut.ie and forum Moderators over a 12-month period.

Data analysis

Content analysis

The study used a method of content analysis described by Brady and Guerin²⁶ to document the types of interactions that took place on the forum. Content analysis is a flexible approach to interpreting qualitative data that involves tabulating and determining the frequency of themes evident in a data set. The “units of analysis” were forum posts. The content of interest was the latent content, that is, the underlying meaning of the text.²⁷ Following a review of forum data, a coding frame was developed based on the types of interactions that took place on the forum (e.g., to seek advice, offer opinions). The coding frame was then applied to forum data, each post/message was coded, and the frequency of each type of interaction was noted. In addition, a comparison was made between the frequencies of each type of interaction by the contributor (Visitor, Moderator).

Results

The level of inter-rater reliability for codes within the analysis was calculated at 78.26%, which is above the required 70%.²⁸

In all, 41 forum users posted 238 messages on the Project Breakup Internet discussion forum over 12 consecutive months. Messages varied in their complexity and length, ranging from short statements (“I just got dumped”) to involved accounts of the decline and termination of a romantic relationship that were in excess of 1,000 words in length. The messages were posted across 28 distinct discussion threads (a thread refers to a grouping of messages on a common topic). Fourteen of the 28 threads were created by Moderators and 14 by Visitors to the forum.

After reading all messages posted on the forum, each message was sorted into mutually exclusive categories based on the kind of interaction the message represented. Table 1 displays a full list of message categories. When several types of interaction were identified in a single message, one code was attributed to each kind of interaction. The messages were read and classified.

Table 1.

Forum Interactions

Types of interaction	Function of interaction
Directive query	Request for advice or information
Nondirective query	Request for opinions or shared experiences
Personal query	Request for a piece of personal information about a forum user
Personal expression	Personal experiences and opinion
Personal information	Piece of personal information about a forum user
Practical information	Piece of practical information
Advice	Offering advice
Support	Offering support
Thanks	Expressing thanks

The first category, Directive Query, was defined as interactions in which a forum user explicitly asked others for advice or information to guide them toward a particular course of action (Anyone have any ideas of how to fix my muddled up love life?). Directive queries featured in just 3% of the total number of messages (n = 8). While Visitors were seven times more likely than Moderators to post directive queries on the forum, this kind of interaction was, nonetheless, uncommon. It seems reasonable to infer therefore that Visitors were either uncomfortable asking for guidance or were not expressly interested in being directed toward a particular course of action.

Whereas directive queries describe interactions in which direction was explicitly sought, a nondirective query refers to an enquiry about the experiences or opinions of others. Nondirective queries were evidenced in around 35% of forum messages (n = 73) (All things considered do u think the break up was a good thing as it let u meet ur new girlfriend?). In a reversal of the trend noted above, Visitors were five times less likely than Moderators to post nondirective queries. Given that nondirective queries serve primarily to elicit experiences or opinions, this trend was interpreted as an indication of the facilitative role assumed by Moderators.

A personal query consists of a specific question about a user's personal life (Are you still living with your ex?), lifestyle (Are you able to eat enough and eat healthily?), or former partner (When was the last time you spoke to her?). Personal queries were seen in 13% of forum messages (n = 31). Similar to the pattern observed for nondirective queries, as described in the preceding paragraph, Moderators were around seven times more likely than Visitors to post personal queries, which is perhaps a further indication of Moderators' facilitative role on the forum.

Personal expressions were seen in 73% (n = 174) of forum messages, which shows that forum users readily disclosed personal experiences and opinions. Personal experiences were posted both for the purpose of relating an experience (It was the most painful thing ever, it feels like she ripped my heart out and danced on it) and voicing an opinion (The reality is that people break up with other people for a whole array of different complex reasons). Noteworthy was the relative parity between Visitors and Moderators in relation to this type of interaction. Visitors were just 1.3 times more likely than Moderators to share their experiences and opinions. A closer examination of the function of Moderators' personal expressions showed that in some instances disclosures might have been used to build rapport (It's not foolish at all to have strong feelings for someone you were with for 2 years). The content of other personal expressions posted by Moderators showed a psychoeducational quality (One or two (breakups) really did have huge effects on me leading to me question who I am, my values, my worldview), while others legitimized a Visitor's experience or conveyed empathy (Losing a best friend and a partner in one fell swoop is …well… f***in miserable!).

In addition, a sizeable proportion of forum users related specific pieces of personal information about themselves, their former partner, or their dissolved relationship. Personal information was found in 18% (n = 43) of all messages. Personal information differed from personal expressions in that a specific personal fact or statement was revealed, for example, “I was going out with a guy for 2 years, I was nearly a year older than him, and we worked together.” That Visitors were around 20 times more likely than Moderators to disclose personal information was taken as an indication that they considered the forum to be a safe space in which they could relate their experiences.

Practical information was evidenced in 6% of forum messages (n = 14). Moderators were around 13 times more likely to post practical information on the forum. These included practical information on use of the forum (There is no set way to do things round here) and health issues (Putting any substances into your body (natural/unnatural; legal/illegal) can cause different reactions in different people). Again, this type of interaction speaks to the facilitative role of Moderators.

Another category of post, advice, appeared in 18% of messages (n = 42). These messages were characterized by a forum user offering specific direction or guidance to another (Always move on.… never stand around waiting on any guy). Proportionally speaking, advice was offered by Visitors and Moderators on an almost equal basis.

A direct expression of support was seen in around 29% (n = 68) of messages. This was expressed toward both the forum as a whole (Everyone deserves to be in a relationship that is mutually fulfilling) and individual forum users (You really have picked up some top class insights as a result of your past breakup). It was noted that, broadly speaking, supportive messages were rich in empathy (I can totally understand where you're coming from on this. Its frustrating when you feel like the person you're with doesn't really know you). While messages of support were posted primarily by Moderators (ratio of 1 Visitor: 8 Moderator posts), a small number (n = 8) was posted by Visitors as an expression of peer support (Things do get better but it will take time).

In addition, approximately 9% of messages (n = 22) conveyed thanks to forum members for their input (I would just like to say thanks to everybody on here for their help, support and kind words). Messages of thanks from Visitors were twice as common as those posted by Moderators.

Discussion

The aim of the current study was to examine the online interactions of 16–25-year olds coping with romantic relationship breakup. Findings from the analysis show that an asynchronous Internet discussion forum that is facilitated by trained moderators can offer a safe space for young people to disclose personal stories and express their emotions in respect of romantic relationship breakup. These findings are consistent with previous research which shows that Internet-mediated research approaches using asynchronous discussion forums provide safe, anonymous, and nonthreatening environments in which they can interact, reflect, and contribute candidly of their own volition.^18–20

While directive messages were commonly posted on the forum, findings from the analysis show that few forum users explicitly sought this kind of support. More commonly, forum users solicited support by eliciting other people's personal experiences and opinions. Given that forum users showed little inhibition in respect of posting personal opinions, experiences, and personal information, it seems reasonable to infer that rather than being indicative of reluctance on their part to ask for specific guidance, it is more likely that these young people were not interested in being directed toward any particular course of action. This is consistent with findings from a qualitative analysis of an Internet discussion forum for recent ex-smokers, which reported that only 29 explicit requests for practical information, advice, or tips were made out of a total of 1,033 messages.²⁹

Also evidenced on the Project Breakup forum were numerous expressions of peer support. This is consistent with previous research that highlighted peer support and responsiveness between users of asynchronous discussion forums are facilitated by the time and place independence of this type of forum.²¹

The study was designed to overcome many of the methodological shortcomings that have characterized past research in the field. These include a preponderance of North American undergraduate student samples, use of research contexts that are inaccessible to young people, reliance on standardized measures that have questionable psychometric properties, and small sample sizes.

Four criteria that have been widely used in qualitative research for establishing the trustworthiness of qualitative data were adopted for the study.³⁰

Credibility

Use of an asynchronous forum meant that participants could reflect and contribute candidly in their own time and of their own volition.¹⁸ Prolonged engagement with participants was facilitated by allocating 12 continuous months for data collection. Use of automatic transcripts that were copied directly from the forum meant that the data were not subject to the kinds of errors that are characteristic of qualitative data transcribed from interviews or focus groups.³¹ The significance of a given category was not determined solely by its prevalence in the data set but according to whether it represented something important in relation to the research question.³² Hence, minority and disconfirming perspectives were admitted in the analysis. A potential negative characteristic of this type of forum (or any online discussion group) is that it can be impossible to clarify who these Visitors are and whether they will provide bad advice or become critical of other Visitors.³³

Dependability

Limited time and personnel meant that conducting a stepwise replication was not a viable option in the current study. However, in a process analogous to an inquiry audit,³⁰ a second author reviewed the data set periodically.

Confirmability

Inter-rater reliability has been outlined above. With regard to question of accomplishing data saturation, the asynchronous nature of participant's interactions on the forum constrained moderators in respect of their ability to clarify or probe comments, as they were posted.³⁴ This made it difficult to determine if data saturation was achieved. However, in an effort to reduce the risk to the confirmability of findings, a lengthy period of data collection was set.

Transferability

Making a determination on the representativeness of the sample in the present study proved difficult for two reasons. The first relates to the Internet-mediated approach taken in the current study, which meant that it was impossible to confirm participants' ages or gender. Given the accessible nature of Internet-mediated research, it was also possible that individuals outside of the specified age range contributed to the forum. The second reason relates to the lack of availability of data regarding the profile of young Irish people using the Internet and forums of the kind used in the present study.²² Irish statistics show that 86% of young people (16–29 years) use the Internet on a daily basis.²³ Therefore, although it was not possible to confirm participants' ages or gender, it would seem reasonable to theorize that the study sample was broadly representative of the wider population.²⁴ Also considered was the argument put forward by Fielding and colleagues²² that where there is a question as to the representativeness of a sample in qualitative research, it is preferable to access a sample that is diverse. To this end, a nationwide recruitment campaign was undertaken in the current study using a wide range of Internet and media recruitment locations.

Findings from the analysis show that an online discussion forum that is facilitated by trained moderators can provide valuable support for some young people following romantic relationship breakup. However, given the complexity and intensity of the psychosocial challenges facing some young people, further research is required to determine what additional supports are required to meet the needs of young people with experience of romantic relationship breakup and the extent to which these can be facilitated online. The literature has highlighted that individuals are at increased risk for suicidal ideation following a serious breakup.³⁵ Given that social support is a protective factor for suicide, the use of an online forum as a means of social support after breakup could be examined for those at risk of suicide. The current study did not examine individual depth of engagement with the material in terms of frequency of use or individual level of satisfaction with the forum. Future research could examine these characteristics to inform the literature on the specific needs of individuals using online forums following relationship breakup.

Footnotes

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist for A.Mc.K, P.R., E.Mc.K., or E.B.

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