Self-Disclosure and Social Support in a Web-Based Opioid Recovery Community: Machine Learning Analysis.

IF 2 Q3 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
Yu Chi, Huai-Yu Chen, Khushboo Thaker
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: The opioid crisis remains a critical public health challenge, with opioid use disorder (OUD) imposing significant societal and health care burdens. Web-based communities, such as the Reddit community r/OpiatesRecovery, provide an anonymous and accessible platform for individuals in recovery. Despite the increasing use of Reddit for substance use research, limited studies have explored the content and interactions of self-disclosure and social support within these communities.

Objective: This study aims to address the following research questions: (1) What content do users disclose in the community?; (2) What types of social support do users receive?; and (3) How does the content disclosed relate to the type and extent of social support received?

Methods: We analyzed 32,810 posts and 324,224 comments from r/OpiatesRecovery spanning 8 years (2014-2022) using a mixed method approach. Posts were coded for recovery stages, self-disclosure, and goals, while comments were categorized into informational and emotional support types. A machine learning-based classifier was used to scale the analysis. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between post content and received support.

Results: The majority of posts were made by individuals using opioids (7225/32,810, 22.0%) or in initial recovery stages (less than 1 mo of abstinence; 27.7%). However, posts by individuals in stable recovery (abstinence for more than 5 years) accounted for only 1.8%. Informational self-disclosure appeared in 88.3% (n=28,977) of posts, while emotional self-disclosure was present in 75.6% (n=24,816). Posts seeking informational support (19,153/32,810, 58.4%) were far more common than those seeking emotional support (779/32,810, 2.4%). On average, each post received 9.88 (SD 11.36) comments. The most frequent types of support were fact and situational appraisal (mean 5.62, SD 6.82) and personal experience (mean 4.88, SD 5.98), while referral was the least common (mean 0.61, SD 0.50). Regression analyses revealed significant relationships between self-disclosure and received support. Posts containing informational self-disclosure were more likely to receive advice (β=0.17, P<.001), facts (β=0.30, P<.001), and opinions (β=0.11, P<.001). Emotional self-disclosure predicted higher levels of emotional support (β=0.17, P<.001) and personal experiences (β=0.07, P<.001). Posts from individuals in the addiction stage received more advice (β=-0.06, P<.001) but less emotional support (β=-0.05, P<.001) compared with posts from individuals in later recovery stages.

Conclusions: This study highlights the role of self-disclosure in fostering social support within web-based OUD recovery communities. Findings suggest a need for increasing engagement from individuals in stable recovery stages and improving the diversity and quality of social support. By uncovering interaction patterns, this study provides valuable insights for leveraging online support groups as complementary resources to traditional recovery interventions.

基于网络的阿片类药物康复社区中的自我披露和社会支持:机器学习分析。
背景:阿片类药物危机仍然是一个重大的公共卫生挑战,阿片类药物使用障碍(OUD)造成了重大的社会和卫生保健负担。基于网络的社区,如Reddit社区r/OpiatesRecovery,为康复中的个人提供了一个匿名和可访问的平台。尽管越来越多地使用Reddit进行物质使用研究,但有限的研究探索了这些社区中自我披露和社会支持的内容和相互作用。本研究旨在解决以下研究问题:(1)用户在社区中披露了哪些内容;(2)用户获得了哪些类型的社会支持?(3)披露的内容与获得的社会支持的类型和程度有何关系?方法:采用混合方法分析r/OpiatesRecovery 8年间(2014-2022年)的32810篇帖子和324224条评论。帖子按照恢复阶段、自我披露和目标进行编码,而评论则分为信息支持和情感支持两类。使用基于机器学习的分类器来扩展分析。进行回归分析以检验帖子内容与获得支持之间的关系。结果:大多数帖子是由使用阿片类药物的个体(7225/32,810,22.0%)或处于初始恢复阶段(戒断时间少于1个月;27.7%)。然而,稳定恢复的个体(戒酒5年以上)的帖子仅占1.8%。信息性自我表露占88.3% (n= 28977),情绪性自我表露占75.6% (n= 24816)。寻求信息支持的帖子(19153 / 32810,58.4%)远高于寻求情感支持的帖子(779/ 32810,2.4%)。平均每篇帖子收到9.88条评论(SD 11.36)。最常见的支持类型是事实和情境评估(平均5.62,SD 6.82)和个人经验(平均4.88,SD 5.98),而转诊是最不常见的(平均0.61,SD 0.50)。回归分析显示,自我表露与获得支持之间存在显著关系。包含信息自我表露的帖子更容易获得建议(β=0.17, p)。结论:本研究强调了自我表露在促进基于网络的OUD康复社区的社会支持中的作用。研究结果表明,需要增加处于稳定恢复阶段的个人的参与,并提高社会支持的多样性和质量。通过揭示互动模式,本研究为利用在线支持小组作为传统康复干预的补充资源提供了有价值的见解。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
JMIR Formative Research
JMIR Formative Research Medicine-Medicine (miscellaneous)
CiteScore
2.70
自引率
9.10%
发文量
579
审稿时长
12 weeks
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