The dynamics of the various roles a user plays while providing and/or seeking social support online are referred to as the altruistic user role. Individual users’ intentional contributions in online health support communities may pass through various levels, influenced by mechanisms such as reciprocity, peer recognition, and selfimage. During various stages of involvement, some users may play prominent social roles in seeking and providing social support. Individuals are expected to behave differently and play different roles in online communities based on their two basic interests, one for themselves and the other for others. Self-centred users, in particular, are preoccupied with their own health issues, whereas altruistic users are more concerned with the needs of others.
Published in Chapter:
Datafied Modelling of Self-Disclosure in Online Health Communication
Adamkolo Mohammed Ibrahim (University of Maiduguri, Nigeria), Hajara Umar Sanda (Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria), Nassir Abba-Aji (University of Maiduguri, Nigeria), Md Salleh Hassan (Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia), and Phuong Thi Vi (Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam)
Copyright: © 2023
|Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-9220-5.ch026
Abstract
Online health support communities play an important role in the exchange of social support and the improvement of health. There is a dearth of theoretical frameworks dedicated to a better understanding of self-disclosure and supporting exchange behaviour in the online health support community literature based on a data-driven research approach. Using a critical review of the literature, this chapter seeks to define the relationship between user support exchange behaviour and self-disclosure intention by modifying the theory of reasoned action (TRA) whilst introducing a new concept called ‘altruistic user role', which describes a user's proclivity to provide or seek social support. A combination of methods, including manual coding and machine learning algorithms, was employed. To help improve the design of online health support communities, this article discusses the implications of the proposed modified TRA.