Investigation of the Effects of an Online Support Group for Mental Health Problems on Stigma and Help-Seeking Among Japanese Adults: Cross-sectional Study

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Abstract

Background

Online support groups vary widely in both goals and structures owing to the rapid development of social networking services. Several studies have shown the potential effectiveness of online support groups, such as reducing psychological distress (eg, depression) among individuals with mental health problems. However, online support groups often do not aim at effectiveness regarding distress relief–related outcomes.

Objective

This study aims to examine whether the use frequency of online support group platform functions (U2plus) is associated with lower stigma and higher consumer activation.

Methods

A total of 350 U2plus users participated in a web-based survey. They were asked what therapy they had received in the past and how often they logged on to it, used each of its functions, and completed the following questionnaires: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Devaluation-Discrimination Scale, and the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire.

Results

Regarding the therapy received, 88% (308/350) of participants had taken medication for mental health problems, and 66.6% (233/350) had received psychotherapy or mental health counseling. Regarding use frequency, 21.7% (74/341) of the participants signed in to U2plus and used its functions more than once a week. The use frequency of U2plus functions was not correlated with perceived stigma, but the use frequency of some functions was weakly correlated with help-seeking intentions from formal sources (eg, doctors and psychologists). However, multiple regression analyses revealed that the use frequency of those functions did not uniquely predict help-seeking intentions.

Conclusions

It was suggested that online support groups may serve as an alternative treatment option for those who are already undergoing pharmacological treatment and are willing to seek help from whatever source they deem helpful.

Related collections

Most cited references 29

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Author and article information

Contributors

Osamu Kobori:

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1236-3645

Department of PsychologyInternational University of Health and Welfare4-1-26 Akasaka, Minato-kuTokyo, 1078402Japan81 3 5574 3900O.Kobori@iuhw.ac.jp

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): JMIR Form Res

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): JMIR Form Res

Journal ID (publisher-id): JFR

Title: JMIR Formative Research

Publisher: JMIR Publications (Toronto, Canada )

ISSN (Electronic): 2561-326X

Publication date Collection: September 2021

Publication date (Electronic): 7 September 2021

Volume: 5

Issue: 9

Electronic Location Identifier: e21348

Affiliations

[1 ] Department of Psychology International University of Health and Welfare Tokyo Japan

[2 ] School of Nursing Faculty of Medicine University of Miyazaki Miyazaki Japan

Author notes

Corresponding Author: Osamu Kobori O.Kobori@ 123456iuhw.ac.jp

Author information

Osamu Kobori https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1236-3645

Naoki Yoshinaga https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4438-9746

Article

Publisher ID: v5i9e21348

DOI: 10.2196/21348

PMC ID: 8456335

PubMed ID: 34491206

SO-VID: 32d2a9ad-318d-4367-a127-0ef1d4500fcb

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

History

Date received : 27 July 2020

Date revision requested : 8 September 2020

Date revision received : 1 October 2020

Date accepted : 1 August 2021

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