Apoyo a un «click» de ratón: los foros de Internet para problemas de salud

• Autores: Marina Beléndez Vázquez, Raquel Suriá Martínez
• Localización: Acción psicológica, ISSN 1578-908X, Vol. 7, Nº. 1, 2010 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Psicología e internet), págs. 17-29
• Idioma: español
• DOI: 10.5944/ap.7.1.202
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Support is just a mouse click away: health-related internet forums
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Dialnet Métricas: 1 Cita
• Resumen
  • español

    El uso de foros de discusión en internet constituye una actividad cotidiana para un porcentaje importante de personas que sufre algún problema de salud. Los usuarios de foros intercambian experiencias con otros participantes desconocidos con los que llegan a compartir vivencias y sentimientos con un elevado grado de intimidad. Las peculiaridades de la comunicación mediada por ordenador hacen de los foros de Internet una alternativa de comunicación atractiva para muchos afectados por algún problema de salud, o para sus familiares. Además de la disponibilidad las 24 horas o la eliminación de barreras geográficas, la investigación existente sugiere una serie de características únicas de estos foros como son: la posibilidad de expresarse mejor que en ambientes cara a cara, el acceso a una cantidad de información sobre salud más heterogénea y variada, la posibilidad de desvelar información personal e íntima sobre la propia salud con menor riesgo que en los grupos cara a cara o el valor terapéutico de la revelación personal en formato escrito sobre los problemas de salud. Aunque ya existen evidencias de los efectos beneficiosos del uso de foros en el bienestar de sus usuarios, todavía se necesitan estudios más detallados y controlados.

  • English

    The use of online discussion forums has become popular among people with health problems. Online forums� users exchange and share personal experiences and feelings with strangers. The computer-mediated communication has special features which attract a wide variety of individuals suffering from health conditions and/or their caregivers. In addition to the 24 hour availability and the absence of barriers imposed by geographic location, research suggests special characteristics of online discussion groups such as: a better way for people to express themselves than in face to face encounters, access to a wide variety of health information, a possibility to reveal personal and private information anonymously or the therapeutic effects of writing about health problems. Although there is some scientific evidence which suggests the positive effects of internet discussion groups participation on users� well-being, more controlled studies are needed.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Anderson, B. J. y Coyne, J. C. (1991). «Miscarried helping» in the families of children and adolescents with chronic diseases. En J.H. Johnson...
  • Arora, N. K, Rutten, L. J. F., Gustafson, D. H., Moser, R. y Hawkins, R. P. (2007). Perceived helpfulness and impact of social support provided...
  • Baikié, K. A. y Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11, 338-346.
  • Bargh, J. A., Fitzsimons, G. M. y McKenna, K. Y. A. (2003). The self, online. En S. J. Spencer, S. Fein, M. P. Zanna y J. M. Olson (Eds.),...
  • Barrón, A., (1996). Apoyo Social: Aspectos teóricos y Aplicaciones, Madrid: Siglo XXI.
  • Beléndez, M. y Suriá, R. (2006, Agosto). Social support and illness perceptions among users of online communities. Poster presentado en el...
  • Ben-Ze’ev A. (2004). Love Online: Emotions on the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Berger, M., Wagner, T. H. y Baker, L. C. (2005). Internet use and stigmatized illness, Social Science y Medicine, 61, 821-1827.
  • Christopherson, K. M. (2007). The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: «On the internet, nobody...
  • Cline, R. J. W. y Haynes, K. M. (2001). Consumer health information seeking on the Internet: the state of the art. Health Education Research,...
  • Cohen, S. (2004). Social relationships and health. American Psychologist, 59, 676-684.
  • Contrada, R. J. y Ashmore, R. D. (1999). Self and social identity: key to understanding social and behavioral aspects of physical health and...
  • Cuijpers, P., van Straten, A. y Andersson (2008). Internet-administered cognitive behavior therapyfor health problems: a systematic review....
  • Cutrona, C. E. (1990). Stress and social support. In search of optimal matching. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9, 3-14.
  • Cutrona, C. E. y Russell, D. (1990). Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. En I.G. Sarason, B.R....
  • Daft, R. L. y Lengel, R. H. (1986). Infomation rich- ness: A new approach to managerial behavior and organizational design. En B. Straw y...
  • Davison, K. P. y Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Virtual narratives: Illness representations in online support groups. En K. J. Petrie y J. Weinman...
  • Davison, K. P., Pennebaker, J.W. y Dickerson, S. S. (2000). Who talks? The social psychology of illness groups. American Psychologist, 55(2),...
  • DuPertuis, L., Aldwin, C. y Bosse, R. (2001). Does the source of support matter for different health outcomes? Findings from the Normative...
  • Esquivel, A., Meric-Bernstam, F. y Bernstam, E.V. (2006). Accuracy and self correction of information received from an internet breast cancer...
  • Eysenbach, G. y Köhler, C. (2004). Health-related searches on the internet. JAMA, 291, 29-46.
  • Frattaroli, J. (2006). Experimental disclosure and its moderators: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 823-865.
  • Frisina, P. G., Borod, J. C. y Lepore, S. J. (2004). A meta-analysis of the effects of written emotional disclosure on the health outcomes...
  • Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380.
  • Harris, A. H. (2006). Does expressive writing reduce health care utilization? A meta-analysis of randomized trials. Journal of Consulting...
  • Hoch, D. B., Norris, D., Lester, L. E. y Marcus, A. D. (1999). Information exchange in an epilepsy forum on the world wide web. Seizure, 8,...
  • Holmes, T. H. y Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213-218.
  • Houston, T. K., Cooper, L. A. y Ford, D. E. (2002). Internet support groups for depression: A 1 year prospective cohort study. American Journal...
  • Iafusco, D., Ingenito, N. y Prisco, F. (2000). The chat line as a communication and educational tool in adolescents with insulin-dependent...
  • Jiménez, J. (2007). Tendencias en el uso de Internet como fuente de información sobre salud. En: E. Hernández y B. Gómez-Zúñiga. Intervención...
  • Johnsen, J. A. K. y Gammon, D. (2009). Connecting with ourselves and others online: Psychological aspects of online health communication....
  • Joinson, A. N. (2001). Self-disclosure in computermediated communication: The role of self-awareness and visual anonymity. European Journal...
  • Kelly, A. E., Klusas, J. A., von Weiss, R. T. y Kenny, C. (2001). What is it about revealing secrets that is beneficial? Personality and Social...
  • Kiesler, S., Siegal, J. y McGuire, T. W. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39,...
  • Lieberman, M. A., y Goldstein, B. A. (2006). Not all negative emotions are equal: the role of emotional expression in online support groups...
  • McKenna, K. Y. A., Green, A. y Gleason, M. (2002). Relationship formation on the Internet: What’s the big attraction? Journal of Social Issues,...
  • Mogk, C., Otte, S., Reinhold-Hurley, B. y Kröner-Herwig, B. (2006, Noviembre). Health effects of ex- pressive writing on stressful or traumatic...
  • Moral, F., Canto, J. M. y Gómez-Jacinto, L. (2004). Internet y desindividuación. Nuevas perspectivas sobre desindividuación en la red: el...
  • Nyklicek, I., Vingerhoets A. y Denollet J. (2002). Emotional (non)-expression and health: Data, questions, and challenges. Psychology and...
  • Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8, 162-166.
  • Pennebaker, J. W., y Beall, S. K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal...
  • Pennebaker, J., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. y Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and immune function: health implications for psychotherapy....
  • Pennebaker, J. W. y Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55 (10), 1243-1254.
  • Pew Internet and American Life Project (2006, Marzo). Online dating. Obtenido el 20 de diciembre de 2009 en http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/...
  • Powell, J., McCarthy, N. y Eysenbach, G. (2003). Cross-sectional survey of users of Internet depression communities. BMC Psychiatry, 10, 3-19.
  • Reeves, P. M. (2001). How individuals coping with HIV/AIDS use the internet. Health Education Research, 16(6), 709-719.
  • Reicher, S., Spears, R. y Postmes, T. (1995). A social model of deindividuation phenomena. Eurpean Review of Social Psychology, 6, 161-199.
  • Schwarzer, R. y Leppin, A. (1989). Social support and health: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Health, 3, 1-15.
  • Sloan, M. D. y Marx, B. (2004). Taking pen to hand: evaluating theories underlying the written disclosure paradigm. Clinical Psychology: Science...
  • Smyth, J. M. (1998). Written emotional expression: ef- fects, sizes, outcome types and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical...
  • Stanton, A. L., Revenson, T. A. y Tennen, H. (2007). Health psychology: psychological adjustment to chronic disease. Annual Review of Psychology,...
  • Suler, J. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. Cyberpsychology y Behavior, 7, 321-326.
  • Suriá, R. (2008). Foros virtuales para personas con enfermedades crónicas: Un análisis psicosocial. Tesis doctoral no publicada, Universidad...
  • Tanis, M. (2007). Online social support groups. En A. Joinson, K. McKenna, T. Postmes, y U. D. Reips (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of internet...
  • Tanis, M. (2008). Health-related on-line forums: What’s the big attraction? Journal of Health Communication, 13, 698-714.
  • Thurlow, C., Lengel, L. y Tomic, A. (2004). Computer mediated communication: Social interaction and the Internet. London: Sage.
  • Turner, J. W., Grube, J. A. y Meyers, J. (2001). Devel- oping an optimal match within online communities: An exploration of CMC support communities...
  • Van Uden-Kraan, C. F., Drossaert, C. H. C., Taal, E., Lebrun, C. E. I., Drossaers-Bakker, K. W. Smit, W. M., Seydel, E. R. yVan de Laar, M....
  • Walther, J. B. (1992). Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated Interaction: A relational perspective. Communication Research, 19 (1), 52-90.
  • Walther, J. B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23,...
  • Walther, J. B. y Boyd, S. (2002). Attraction to computer-mediated social support. En C. A. Lin y D. Atkin (Eds.), Communication technology...
  • Weinberg, N., Schmale, J., Uken, J. y Wessel, K. (1996). On-line help: Cancer patients participate in a computer-mediated support group. Health...
  • Wright, K. (2000). Computer-mediated social support, older adults, and coping. Journal of Communication, 50, 100-118.
  • Wright, K. (2002). Social support within an on-line cancer community: An assessment of emotional support, perceptions of advantages and disadvantages...
  • Wright, K. B., y Bell, S. B. (2003). Health-related support groups on the internet: Linking empirical findings to social support and computer-mediated...