Surviving Grief: An Analysis of the Exchange of Hope in Online Grief Communities

Abstract

Online grief communities represent relatively new forms of peer support. However, the degree to which they are helpful for individual grieving processes is unknown. To date, no research has evaluated the type or quality of support exchanged in online grief communities. To begin to address these questions, this study analyzed 564 messages from internet grief websites to: (1) classify the type of helping skills used, and (2) extract themes contained in the content of the messages. Messages selected for analysis were the first response to an original post, assuming they would be the first effort to provide support to a grieving individual. Results revealed a majority of responses contained self-disclosure. Themes in the messages suggested provision of more than “one-way” support; messages themes also included exchanging hope for the future by sharing one's own story, validating the grief experience, providing resources, and exchanging psychosocial support. Clinical implications and research recommendations are discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bacon

E. S.

Condon

E. H.

, & Fernsler

J. I.

(2000). Young widows' experience with an Internet self-help group. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 38, 24–33.

Bar-Lev

(2008). “We are here to give you emotional support:” Performing emotions in an online HIV/AIDS support group. Qualitative Health Research, 18, 509–521.

Baum

L. S.

(2004). Internet parent support groups for primary caregivers of a child with special health care needs. Pediatric Nursing, 30, 381, 401.

Briceno

Gospodarowicz

, & Jadad

(2008). Fight cancer with the internet and social networking. Lancet Oncology, 9, 1037–1038.

Brown

(2009). Online self-help. Therapy Today, 20, 22–25.

Burleson

B. R.

Albrecht

, & Sarason

I. G.

(1994). Communication of social support: Messages, interactions, relationships and community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Capitulo

(2004). Perinatal grief online. The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 29, 305–311.

Cathcart

, & Gumpert

(1990). A theory of mediation. In Ruben

B. D.

& Lievrouw

L. A.

(Eds.), Mediation, information, and communication. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Comscore Media Matrix. (2007). Social networking goes global. Retrieved August 2008 from http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1555

10.

Cooper

G. A.

(2001). Online assistance for problem gamblers: An examination of participant characteristics and the role of stigma. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 62, 13–34.

11.

Danish

S. J.

D'Augelli

A. R.

, & Brock

G. W.

(1974). Helping skills verbal response system. Unpublished manuscript, Pennsylvania State University.

12.

Danish

D'Augelli

, & Hauer

(1980). Helping skills: A basic training program. New York: Human Sciences Press.

13.

D'Augelli

A. R.

, & Vallance

(2006). The helping community: Issues in the evaluation of a preventive intervention to promote informal helping. Journal of Community Psychology, 10, 199–209.

14.

Davison

K. P.

Pennebaker

J. W.

, & Dickerson

S. S.

(2000). Who talks: The social psychology of illness support groups. American Psychologist, 55, 205–217.

15.

DeBell

C. S.

Montgomery

M. J.

McCarthy

P. R.

, & Lanthier

R. P.

(1998). The critical contact: A study of recruiter verbal behavior during campus interviews. Journal of Business Communication, 35, 202–223.

16.

Feigelman

Gorman

B. S.

Chastain-Beal

, & Jordan

J. R.

(2008). Internet support groups for suicide survivors: A new mode for gaining bereavement assistance. The Journal of Death and Dying, 57, 217–243.

17.

Glanz

(2007). What can I do? Ideas to help those who've experienced loss. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Publishers.

18.

Glaser

B. G.

, & Strauss

A. L.

(1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago, IL: Aldine.

19.

Harte

(2007). Grief goes online. Utne Reader, 140, 88–89.

20.

Hewson

(2003). Conducting research on the Internet. The Psychologist, 16, 290–293.

21.

Hill

Schillo

, & Weinert

(2004). Effect of a computer-based intervention on social support for chronically ill rural women, Rehabilitation Nursing, 29, 169–173.

22.

Hill

W. G.

, & Weinert

(2004). An evaluation of an online intervention to provide social support and health education. Computer Informatics Nursing, 22, 282–288.

23.

Hollander

E. M.

(2001). Cyber community in the valley of the shadow of death. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 6, 135–146.

24.

Hookway

(2008). Exploring the blogosphere: Some strategies for using blogs in social research. Qualitative Research, 8, 91–113.

25.

Kilcrease

(2008). Cancersupportnet.com launches. Red Herring, 1.

26.

Lamberg

(2003). Online empathy for mood disorders. Journal of American Medical Association, 289, 3073–3077.

27.

Lampert

M.-J.

(2004). Bergin and Garfield's handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (5th ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons.

28.

McCarthy

P. R.

Danish

S. J.

, & D'Augelli

A. R.

(1979). A follow-up evaluation of helping skills training. Counselor Education and Supervision, 29, 19–35.

29.

McCarthy

P. R.

, & Knapp

S. L.

(1984). Helping styles of crisis interveners, psychotherapists, and untrained individuals. American Journal of Community Psychology, 12, 623–627.

30.

McCarthy

Kulakowski

, & Kenfield

(1994). Clinical supervision practices of licensed psychologists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 25, 177–181.

31.

Miller

(2006). Finding support online: Parents are finding comfort and support in virtual hugs. The Exceptional Parent, 36, 42–44.

32.

Osterweis

Solomon

, & Green

(1984). Bereavement: Reactions, consequences and care. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

33.

Patton

M. Q.

(2001). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

34.

Pew Internet. (2009, October 2). State of the Internet 2009: Pew internet project findings and implications for libraries. Retrieved April 13, 2010 from: Pewinternet.org http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/36—State-of-the-Internet-2009—Pew-Internet-Project-Findings-and-Implications-for-Libraries.aspx

35.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. (2005, June). Fact sheet 18: Privacy and the internet: Raveling in cyberspace safely. Retrieved April 13, 2010 from: Privacyrights.org http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs18-cyb.htm

36.

PsychCentral. (2009, April 13). Grief and loss. Retrieved April 13, 2010 from: Psychcentral.com http://psychcentral.com/resources/Grief_and_Loss/

37.

Roberts

(1999). Tangible sorrow, virtual tributes: Cemeteries in cyberspace. In deVries

(Ed.), End of life issues: Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives. New York: Springer.

38.

Ryden

M. B.

McCarthy

P. R.

Lewis

M. L.

, & Sherman

(1991). A behavioral comparison of the helping styles of nursing students, psychotherapists, crisis interveners, and untrained individuals. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 5, 185–188.

39.

Schneider

J. M.

(1994). Finding my way: Healing & transformation through loss & grief. Colfax, WI: Seasons Press.

40.

Shaw

Han

Hawkins

McTavish

, & Gustavson

(2008). Communicating about self and others within an online support group for women with breast cancer and subsequent outcomes. Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 930–939.

41.

Sofka

C. J.

(1997). Social support “internetworks,” caskets for sale, and more: Thanatology and the information superhighway. Death Studies, 21, 553–574.

42.

Tannis

(2007). Online social support groups: The appeal of support via the internet. Psychologie and Gezondheid, 35, 234–242.

43.

Vernon

C. L.

, & Laquatra

(1982). Guidelines for rating helpers' verbal responses. Unpublished manual. Pennsylvania State University.

44.

Waldron

Lavitt

, & Kelley

(2000). The nature and prevention of harm in technology-mediated self-help settings: Three exemplars. Journal of Technology and Human Services, 17, 267–293.

45.

Webb

(2008). Providing online support for young people with mental health difficulties: Challenges and opportunities explored. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 2, 108–113.