Individual and social benefits of online discussion forums

Abstract

There has been much debate surrounding the potential benefits and costs of online interaction. The present research argues that engagement with online discussion forums can have underappreciated benefits for users' well-being and engagement in offline civic action, and that identification with other online forum users plays a key role in this regard. Users of a variety of online discussion forums participated in this study. We hypothesized and found that participants who felt their expectations had been exceeded by the forum reported higher levels of forum identification. Identification, in turn, predicted their satisfaction with life and involvement in offline civic activities. Formal analyses confirmed that identification served as a mediator for both of these outcomes. Importantly, whether the forum concerned a stigmatized topic moderated certain of these relationships. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical and applied implications.

Full text

Individual and social benefits of online discussion forums
Louise F. Pendry
a,
⇑
, Jessica Salvatore
b
a
University of Exeter, United Kingdom
b
Sweet Briar College, USA
article info
Article history:
Keywords:
Online discussion forum
Well-being
Civic engagement
Activism
Social identity
Stigmatised group membership
abstract
There has been much debate surrounding the potential benefits and costs of online interaction. The pre-
sent research argues that engagement with online discussion forums can have underappreciated benefits
for users’ well-being and engagement in offline civic action, and that identification with other online
forum users plays a key role in this regard. Users of a variety of online discussion forums participated
in this study. We hypothesized and found that participants who felt their expectations had been
exceeded by the forum reported higher levels of forum identification. Identification, in turn, predicted
their satisfaction with life and involvement in offline civic activities. Formal analyses confirmed that
identification served as a mediator for both of these outcomes. Importantly, whether the forum con-
cerned a stigmatized topic moderated certain of these relationships. Findings are discussed in the context
of theoretical and applied implications.
Ó2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open accessarticle under the CC BY license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
1. Introduction
1.1. Online interaction
Can human interaction over the internet be personally and
socially transformative? The introduction of new, disruptive tech-
nology is always accompanied by a deep suspicion – for example,
the telephone was greeted by claims that it would break up home
life and stop people from visiting friends (Fischer, 1992; Pool,
1983) – and the internet has been no exception to this rule (see,
e.g., Putnam, 2000). As we detail below, debates about the sup-
posed pros and cons of internet-based interaction have focused
primarily on individual well-being, largely ignoring the potential
benefits at more inclusive levels of analysis (community and
society). We propose that one of the key benefits of online interac-
tion has been overlooked by researchers: its potential to contribute
to increased engagement with civic activities. Our contribution in
this paper is to demonstrate that online interaction can foster off-
line engagement at the same time, counter-intuitively, as it fosters
individual well-being. Drawing below on social identity theory
(Tajfel & Turner, 1979), we demonstrate that identification with
other forum users plays an influential role in both these processes.
In the present research we focus on one particular mode of
online interaction – participation in online discussion forums –
to consider when, why, and how they may transform their users.
Online forums have been in existence for many years, and indeed
predate the internet (Li & Bernoff, 2011). Although seemingly
eclipsed in the past decade by social networking sites such as
Facebook, forums are still regularly used by around 20% of online
users in the US, and about 10% of online users in the UK (Li &
Bernoff, 2011), attesting to the value that users continue to derive
from them. This value may stem, at least in part, from the fact that
forums represent one of the few remaining spaces online that
afford the user the potential for anonymous interaction.
We contend that this value accrues at both the individual level
(well-being) and the society level (civic engagement). To put our
argument and data in context, below we first review past work
on the connection between online interaction and individual-level
outcomes, and then the small amount of available work relating
online interaction to society-level outcomes. We then consider
mediating and moderating variables and end the introduction by
deriving concrete hypotheses.
1.2. Effects on individual well-being
How does online interaction impact an individual’s well-being?
Intuitively, one might expect that any form of interaction, regard-
less of setting, is probably an aid to well-being. In offline settings,
researchers have demonstrated that those who communicate more
and have close supportive relationships are less stressed, happier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.03.067
0747-5632/Ó2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
⇑
Corresponding author at: University of Exeter, Psychology Department, Wash-
ington Singer Laboratories, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QG, United Kingdom. Tel.: +44
(0)1392 264646.
E-mail addresses: l.f.pendry@ex.ac.uk (L.F. Pendry), jsalvatore@sbc.edu (J.
Salvatore).
Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220
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and psychologically healthier (e.g., Baumeister & Leary, 1995;
House, Umberson, & Landis, 1988) whereas those who have fewer
close relationships, social resources and support tend to feel more
lonely, be more depressed and psychologically less well (Barnett &
Gotlib, 1988; Bruce & Hoff, 1994).
But some have argued for an ‘‘internet paradox’’: the idea that
more interaction online translates into reduced well-being because
it disrupts interaction offline. If time spent interacting online
comes at the expense of vital everyday face-to-face interaction
with family and friends, there could be negative implications for
users’ psychological wellbeing downstream (e.g., Mesch, 2001;
Nie, Hillygus, & Erbring, 2002). There is certainly evidence that
‘‘too much’’ online activity can result in a range of negative effects
on users. Heavy internet users report feeling more isolated from
society and report fewer interactions with family and friends
(Nie & Hillygus, 2002; Nie et al., 2002). Time spent online has been
shown to be associated with increased depression and other emo-
tional problems (Carden & Rettew, 2006; Morgan & Cotton, 2003)
and impaired academic performance (Junco, 2012). Using the
internet to meet people is also associated with depression
(Boneva, Quinn, Kraut, Kiesler, & Shklovski, 2006).
An influential set of studies provides perhaps the most defini-
tive tests of these ideas (Kraut et al., 1998). Kraut and colleagues
recruited families who did not have Internet access in homes at
the beginning; gave each a personal computer, internet, and e-
mail; and tracked them over two years to assess the impact of
internet use on their social involvement, social support, and psy-
chological well-being. Far from improving users’ well-being, the
evidence gathered in this study suggested that stress, depression,
and loneliness seemed to be worsened by internet use. This paper
calling the benefits of online interaction into question generated
significant media and scholarly attention. But these provocative
findings have not held up over time. First, others’ data have not
been fully supportive (see LaRose, Eastin, & Gregg, 2001; Morgan
& Cotton, 2003). Second, Kraut and colleagues’ own later data have
also run against their earlier findings. In a follow-up study of over
200 of the respondents from their original 1998 paper, Kraut and
colleagues reported that most of the negative effects had dissi-
pated, with the exception of increased stress. They also collected
fresh data several years after the earlier study and found that par-
ticipants in this later sample experienced mostly positive effects of
using the Internet (Kraut et al., 2002). Overall, these findings paint
a far more optimistic picture.
Taking the later data into account, many researchers have
arrived at a more positive view of the consequences of internet
use, arguing that online interaction can supplement rather than
supplant face-to-face interaction (DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman, &
Robinson, 2001; Wellman, Haase, Witte, & Hampton, 2001).
Several reasons underlie this argument. First, the internet helps
to maintain geographically dispersed networks: it can prevent
communities, families, and friends from becoming too fragmented
by providing sources of social support regardless of users’ physical
location (Howard, Rainie, & Jones, 2001; Subrahmanyam, Reich,
Waechter, & Espinoza, 2008). Second, getting involved in online
groups can be of huge benefit to those with somewhat depleted
offline social resources (McKenna & Bargh, 1998); developing
relationships with individuals and groups online may help com-
pensate for the social resources that are lacking offline. Last, inter-
net interaction has been positively linked to the development of
social capital (Best & Krueger, 2006; Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe,
2007, 2011; Gross, Juvonen, & Gable, 2002; Hampton & Wellman,
2003; Kavanaugh, Carroll, Rosson, Reese, & Zin, 2005; Kraut et al.,
2002; Quan-Haase, Wellman, Witte, & Hampton, 2002; Robinson,
Kestnbaum, Neustadtl, & Alvarez, 2000). Offline (face-to face)
social capital has been shown to decrease dropout rates, and
increase students’ sense of belonging and well-being in academic
settings (Garcia-Reid, 2007) and similar benefits have been shown
among members of virtual communities (Tomai et al., 2010).
In sum, research shows that online interaction impacts both
positively and negatively upon users’ well-being. It is not so much
a question of whether online interaction impacts well-being, but
when, why and how it does. Before explaining the identity-related
process by which we believe this occurs, we first consider the sec-
ond of our two major outcomes of interest in this paper.
1.3. Effects on offline (civic) engagement
Alongside effects on individual well-being, we seek to better
understand when and how users of online discussion forums
become motivated to work on behalf of the issues discussed in
those forums. Such civic activities in related offline settings might
include willingness to sign petitions, willingness to donate money,
and other forms of civic-minded collective action.
As noted, there is less evidence addressing these society-level
effects than evidence addressing personal-level effects. But there
is suggestive evidence that online engagement can translate into
offline collective action, such as civic and political participation
(e.g., Valenzuela, Park, & Kee, 2009). In addition to these suggestive
correlational studies, some ‘‘natural experiments’’ have provided
opportunities to test a causal relationship between internet use
and civic engagement more carefully. In one illustrative interven-
tion study (Hampton & Wellman, 2003), a suburb of Toronto had
been turned into a ‘‘wired suburb’’ when residents were offered a
package of online services, including high-speed internet access,
videophone, online health advice, and local online discussion for-
ums. After this intervention, follow-up data suggested that the
internet actually stimulates more offline contact (resonating with
the debate reviewed above) and promotes collective action to solve
community problems offline (see also Blanchard & Horan, 1998).
There are, however, exceptions to this pattern (e.g., Byrne,
2007). A recent meta-analysis of the link between internet use
and political/civic engagement suggests it is far from inevitable
(Boulianne, 2009). Clearly, more work is needed on the timely
and important question of whether (and what type of) online inter-
action can translate into offline civic engagement, and more impor-
tantly, to better understand the processes that may underlie this
link. A major goal of our study was to address these gaps in the
literature.
1.4. Mediating role of forum identification
We follow others in conceptualizing ingroup identification as a
feeling of similarity and engagement with an ingroup and its other
members. Identification reflects, and is expressed by, the inclusion
of the ingroup in the self-concept (Tropp & Wright, 2001). Thus,
forum identification refers to the extent to which users include
the forum in the self-concept. Joining the forum is not synonymous
with becoming a high identifier; active members of the forum may
vary in their identification. Because a given user may be strongly
identified with one forum but only weakly identified with another,
identification is not a stable personality trait. To measure individ-
ual differences, we need to specify the target (in this case, the
specific forum).
Why is identification important? Social identity theory (Tajfel &
Turner, 1979) posits that our group memberships are just as
important as individual identity in defining the self (see Ellemers,
Spears, & Doosje, 2002) and thus are equally important determi-
nants of our downstream outcomes mediated by the self-concept
(such as well-being and behavior). We suggest that online forums
are precisely this type of group; they function as a powerful site of
community for their users. Furthermore, it is the development of
212 L.F. Pendry, J. Salvatore / Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220

the sense that this community is meaningfully connected to the
self (i.e., forum identification) that creates the dual benefits of
individual well-being and offline civic engagement. In other words,
identification plays a mediating role that drives the other two out-
comes of interest. In this section we highlight two of the many
benefits of identification already established in the offline litera-
ture that we feel merit closer attention because they map onto
our outcomes of interest.
First, at the individual level, group identification has been
robustly linked to health and well-being, both in terms of effective
coping with situational stressors (Haslam & Reicher, 2006) and in
the longer term. For example, a significant body of work is
accumulating that suggests social group memberships, and more
specifically, engagement in activities associated with such groups,
can play a significant protective role in both the onset of and recov-
ery from depression (see Cruwys, Haslam, Dingle, Haslam, & Jetten,
2014, for an overview of this extensive program of research). Our
prediction that identification mediates the positive impact of
online discussion forums on individual well-being derives from
this well established and robust connection.
Second, at the societal level, group identification is also quite
often linked to heightened civic engagement, in the sense that it
is almost an accepted ‘given’ that they somehow go together
(Youniss, 2011). Those with a strong political identity are more
inclined to engage in civic activities such as political activism
(Stewart & McDermott, 2004) and protest participation
(Klandermans, 2002). Qualitative accounts of adolescents’ commit-
ment to and engagement with prosocial and political organizations
suggest that sustained social action may be at least partly a direct
consequence of identification with the goals of the organizations
they belong to (Martínez, Peñaloza, & Valenzuela, 2012). Within
environmental psychology, too, there is suggestive evidence that
identification promotes environmental activism (Dono, Webb, &
Richardson, 2010; Fielding, McDonald, & Louis, 2008). And suffi-
ciently many findings in the social psychological literature affirm
the role of identification in collective action that an influential
paper putting forward a social identity model of collective action
was needed to integrate them (van Zomeren, Postmes, & Spears,
2008). These myriad and varied sources all suggest a mediational
role for identification in fostering collective action. To our knowl-
edge, though, no researchers have asked whether these same
dynamics might link online identification with offline collective
action, or any other form of civic engagement. Our study provides
the first test of that intriguing idea.
If identification has so many benefits, it becomes increasingly
crucial to ask where it comes from. In other words, instead of tak-
ing identification levels as a ‘‘given,’’ we need to conceptualize
them also as a dynamic outcome. Social identity theory has taken
up the question of the antecedents of forum identification and pro-
vided some answers. Patterns of identification with different
ingroups suggest that identification occurs when it is functional
(useful). People may strategically express identities when they
think they will not be punished, and/or connect them to an audi-
ence that is valued (Spears, Lea, Corneliussen, Postmes, & Ter
Haar, 2002). Moreover, low identifiers will begin to identify with
a group when they anticipate that the group is about to benefit
from positive social change, but will dis-identify when change is
unlikely (Doosje, Spears, & Ellemers, 2002).
This suggests that we may be able to uncover antecedents of
forum identification that similarly reflect users’ sense that the
forum has been useful for them. Initial levels of forum identifica-
tion are low as a rule; users do not tend to join a forum with a
sense of already being connected to other users (who are strangers)
by more than shared interests. Forum identification develops over
time – but how and why? A key goal of our study was to investi-
gate the antecedents of forum identification.
One of the advantages of online communication is that it may
allow people to fulfill needs that are not being met offline. Our
rationale in considering the antecedents of forum identification
was influenced by the ‘uses and gratifications’ approach (Herzog,
1944; Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974), a second theoretical per-
spective that complements the social identity approach. This holds
that people may trade off ‘richness’ of the medium against its abil-
ity to satisfy their felt needs. For example, people with an obscure
interest may join an online discussion forum to obtain information
or social support that is not available in their own community.
Because online communication provides disparate gratification
opportunities compared with traditional media, individuals may
find it superior to face-to-face communication, if that richer med-
ium is not considered fit for purpose (Dimmick, Kline, & Stafford,
2000). This approach inspires us to draw a distinction between
instrumental reasons for joining forums (e.g., to seek information)
and social reasons – the two main reasons that have emerged in
our preliminary research into this question (Pendry, Mewse, &
Burgoyne, 2012).
Given that identification has a strong emotional component
(e.g., Cameron, 2004) we put forward the novel hypothesis that
social factors are more influential than instrumental factors in fos-
tering forum identification. What we mean by this is that users
have high initial expectations about the instrumental benefits
(which are typically fulfilled), but not about the social benefits.
Because they do not readily intuit that the experience of interact-
ing with other forum users will result in the formation of new
social ties, their expectations are frequently exceeded. Putting this
all together motivates our hypothesis that the antecedents of iden-
tification are primarily social. Thus, the strongest predictor of iden-
tification should be the extent to which social (not instrumental)
expectations are met or even exceeded.
1.5. Moderating role of stigma
A key aspect of our argument is that some of the benefits of
online interaction may accrue particularly to people with
stigmatizing conditions, whose need for a sense of community
may be harder to meet in the course of normal, day-to-day offline
interactions (Goffman, 1963). A stigmatizing condition is one that
subjects its carrier to social devaluation (Crocker, Major, & Steele,
1998), and stigma is a psychological stressor for precisely this rea-
son (Allison, 1998; Heckman et al., 2002; Varni, Miller, McCuin, &
Solomon, 2012). Although social stigmas may be differentiated
along a variety of dimensions (e.g., visibility), our goal in this work
is not to draw fine distinctions between different types of stigmas.
Instead, we cast a wide net by considering the core defining ele-
ment of devaluation that links the experience of people who have
a variety of different types of stigmatizing conditions.
Nowadays people can both avoid and proactively cope with this
devaluation by turning to online forums populated by others who
share the same devalued group membership. However, little to no
work to date has addressed whether this is an effective strategy in
the sense of improving users’ well-being or offline civic engage-
ment. To address this question, our research directly compared
users’ experiences with two types of forums: forums that address
stigmatizing topics (post-natal depression, mental health issues,
and non-disposable diaper usage) and forums that are more
focused on recreational activities (golf, bodybuilding, and a range
of self-identified forums).
We hypothesized that users of the stigma-related forums
should reap unique benefits for well-being, relative to users of
the recreational forums. We reasoned that members of these for-
ums would feel they had few people to talk to in their day-to-
day lives who could truly understand what it means to deal with
the stigmatizing characteristic and the accompanying devaluing
L.F. Pendry, J. Salvatore / Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220 213

social reactions. Forums can all offer some initial anonymity, a
community, and information that geographically proximate others
may not have. What stigma-related forums uniquely offer is that
the anonymity protects those who are not ready to be publicly
associated with sensitive topics; the community helps to neutral-
ize the ‘‘spoilage’’ of identity that accompanies stigma (Goffman,
1963). In forums focused on less stigmatizing topics, only the spe-
cialized knowledge and expertise (not the anonymity and sense of
community) are relevant, and they are a luxury rather than a
necessity. We based our hypothesis on research showing that only
people who initially lack offline support reap mental health bene-
fits from online interaction (Bessière, Kiesler, Kraut, & Boneva,
2008) and that symptoms of depression are best ameliorated when
sufferers not only ‘show up’ to but actively engage with offline
groups (e.g., community recreation groups; Cruwys et al., 2014).
Thus, getting involved with social groups, whether offline or
online, is known to especially benefit those with stigmatising
conditions.
Putting this past work together, we expected only users of the
stigma-relevant forums to show individual well-being benefits to
the extent that they come to identify with the forum, because their
initial need is not being met. In contrast, we had no theoretical rea-
son to suspect that civic engagement would be affected by the
stigma relevance of the forum; past work shows that identification
predicts collective action across a wide range of naturally occurring
groups. Thus, we expected users of all types of forums to experi-
ence improved civic engagement to the extent that they come to
identify with the forum.
1.6. Synthesis and predictions
First, regarding motivations for joining the forum, we predicted
that participants would report having initially joined primarily to
seek information (Hypothesis 1). Second, regarding fulfilment of
these goals, we predicted that participants would report that their
information needs had been very well met (Hypothesis 2), since
serving as a clearinghouse for user-generated information is one
of the most straightforward and easily fulfilled functions that for-
ums provide. Importantly, though, we further predicted that these
explicitly acknowledged information-seeking experiences on the
part of users would be less important predictors of forum identifi-
cation than alternative (social) needs would be (Hypothesis 3).
Next, we investigated how users’ forum identification impacts
upon two key outcome variables: their own well-being, and down-
stream, potential offline impact in terms of civic engagement in
related activities such as volunteering or campaigning. Consistent
with past work, we predicted that participants’ levels of forum
identification would be correlated with both of these outcome
variables (Hypothesis 4). We predicted that identification with
other forum users would mediate the relationship between, on
the one hand, users having their social expectations met or
exceeded on the forum, and on the other hand, the positive out-
comes they enjoy in terms of improved satisfaction with life and
offline engagement (Hypothesis 5). Importantly, this mediated
relationship would hold for all forums in the case of offline engage-
ment, but would only hold for stigma-related forums in the case of
satisfaction with life (Hypothesis 6).
2. Method
2.1. Participants and procedure
We approached users of a range of online discussion forums
catering to a variety of interests/hobbies and lifestyles. The overall
combined sample consisted of 273 participants (including 73 men
and one with gender unreported), ranging in age from 18 to 67
(M= 35, SD = 10). These were recruited both directly from the for-
ums and from MTurk. As detailed below, our samples included
users of both stigma-related forums (for postnatal depression,
mental health more broadly construed, and users of non-dispos-
able diapers) and non-stigma-related forums (for golfers and body-
builders and environmental issues as well as a set of forums self-
nominated by MTurk users), allowing us to test the moderating
role of stigma as outlined above.
It is important to explain the rationale behind our categoriza-
tion of forums into stigma-related versus non-stigma-related.
This was based upon past research that has demonstrated first,
that mental health illnesses are generally (and uncontentiously)
recognized as stigmatised (Schwenk, Davis, & Wimsatt, 2010;
Wang, Fick, Adair, & Lai, 2007), and second, that certain environ-
mental activities engaged in by small minorities (such as using
non-disposable diapers) are considered to be rather marginalised
and ‘cranky’ with individuals choosing to engage in them receiving
a rather negative reaction from the majority (at least in the UK; see
Pendry et al., 2012).
At first blush, this latter group assignment might seem surpris-
ing, since intuitively, one might suppose that using non-disposable
diapers is a choice made in most cases for environmental reasons
and these are generally held to be positive and worthy motivations
which ought not to result in a feeling of being stigmatised.
However, in the UK, where these data were collected, this is unfor-
tunately not the case. There is near-total (96%) market penetration
for disposable nappies (Aumônier, Collins, & Garrett, 2008). Our
previous research confirmed that using non-disposable diapers is
very much a minority activity that has not to this point gained
the acceptance of other forms of recycling engaged in by the major-
ity (e.g., recycling of household waste). It is clear that negative
stereotypes exist about non-disposable diaper users, who are
already clearly a minority group in numerical terms (Pendry
et al., 2012). More recently, it is still common to find similar com-
ments being made on parenting forums (e.g., Mumsnet) about non-
disposable users by disposable users, and for non-disposable users
to voice that they sense this negativity toward them.
Although the stigmas involved may not be directly comparable,
we anticipated that the main reasons both types of members are
drawn to their discussion forums are nonetheless linked to notions
of devaluation, unacceptability, and lack of availability of support
from similar others.
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Motivations for joining discussion forums
Participants’ reasons for initially joining their forum were
assessed by asking them to rate four possible motivations on a
scale from not at all (1) to very much (7). These reasons comprised:
To seek information, to share information, to form or maintain
relationships, and because there were no opportunities to meet
likeminded people in their area.
2.2.2. Fulfilment of expectations
Participants were next asked to rate the reasons above (with the
exception of the last) in terms of whether their expectations had
been met. We used a seven-point scale with these points labeled:
It has fallen short of my expectations (1), It has met my expecta-
tions (4), and It has exceeded my expectations (7).
2.2.3. Identification with other forum users
Forum identification was assessed using Aron, Aron, and
Smollan’s (1992) Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) measure,
adapted to measure ingroup identification (in line with the usage
of Tropp & Wright, 2001). Both of these papers provide
214 L.F. Pendry, J. Salvatore / Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220

psychometric validation. This consists of a single-item, pictorial
measure of closeness with others, with self and forum represented
in individual circles which increase in overlap as one moves further
along the scale (with options from no overlap, coded as 1, to almost
complete overlap, coded as 6). Participants were asked to select the
pair of circles which best represented their relationship to the
forum, with a greater overlap implying higher identification (see
Fig. 1).
2.2.4. Satisfaction with life
This was measured using the five-item Satisfaction With Life
scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), designed
to measure global cognitive judgments of one’s concept of life
satisfaction. Participants rated items using a scale with the end-
points strongly disagree (1) and strongly agree (7). Ratings for the
five items were averaged to form a scale for subsequent analyses
(
a
= .90).
2.2.5. Offline engagement with forum issues
This eight-item measure assessed how likely participants would
be to engage in offline civic activities related to the forum issue
(such as being an advocate for the issue in conversation, campaign-
ing for funding, participating in political demonstrations).
Participants rated each item on a 7-point scale bounded at No,
never (1), Sometimes (4), and Yes,a lot (7). Ratings for the eight
items were averaged to form a scale for subsequent analyses
(
a
= .89).
2.3. Procedure
For the subset of the sample that came from Amazon’s
Mechanical Turk site, a ‘‘human intelligence task’’ posted on the
site sent ‘workers’ to the same online surveying site used to admin-
ister the forum-specific surveys. All forum-specific questions were
reworded to refer to ‘‘your primary forum’’. In all other cases, the
questionnaire was posted on the chosen online forums by forum
moderators as a ‘sticky’ link for one month at a time. Participants
clicked on the link if they wished to complete the questionnaire
and were told that the study was concerned with the social behav-
ior of online forum users. Consent was obtained prior to commenc-
ing the questionnaire. Participants were informed that the
questionnaire was anonymous, that they did not have to answer
any questions they did not want to and had the right to withdraw
themselves or their results from the experiment at any time. The
questionnaire comprised demographic questions, followed by the
scales outlined next in the order that they appear below. Once par-
ticipants had completed the questionnaire they were thanked and
debriefed.
3. Results
Table 1 provides a summary of descriptive statistics broken
down by forum type. Table 2 provides a summary of correlations
between the key variables broken down by forum type.
3.1. Motivations for joining forum and subsequent fulfilment of
expectations
We conducted a one-way within-participants ANOVA compar-
ing participants’ ratings of the four possible reasons they had ini-
tially joined their forum. Supporting Hypothesis 1, participants
reported joining in order to seek information (M= 6.24,
SD = 1.14) more than for the three other reasons: to share informa-
tion (M= 4.65, SD = 1.82), find others to relate to (M= 3.60,
SD = 2.05), or because likeminded others were not nearby
(M= 3.80, SD = 2.10), F(3, 795) = 158.10, p< .001.
Fig. 1. Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) measure (adapted from Aron et al., 1992).
Table 1
Descriptives (M±SD) within two types of online discussion forums.
Variable Stigma forums
(N= 121)
Non-stigma forums
(N= 122)
Difference?
(see text)
Motivations for joining
To seek
information
6.20 (1.01) 6.25 (1.26) ns
To share
information
4.67 (1.90) 4.73 (1.77) ns
Form
relationships
4.12 (2.17) 2.98 (1.80) p< .001
Nobody
likeminded
nearby
4.21 (2.05) 3.39 (2.05) p= .002
Fulfilment of expectations
Re: seeking
information
5.27 (1.44) 5.53 (1.43) ns
Re: sharing
information
5.16 (1.45) 5.43 (1.50) ns
Re: forming
relationships
4.48 (1.64) 4.32 (1.46) ns
Mediator and key outcomes
Forum
identification
2.99 (1.42) 2.58 (1.06) p= .008
Satisfaction with
life
3.83 (1.74) 4.58 (1.19) p< .001
Offline
engagement
4.60 (1.29) 4.38 (1.22) ns
L.F. Pendry, J. Salvatore / Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220 215

To follow up this finding, we further assessed whether motiva-
tions for joining the forum differed as a function of forum type. It is
notable that instrumental reasons (seeking and sharing informa-
tion) had been endorsed more strongly than social reasons overall.
Furthermore, endorsement of the instrumental reasons for joining
were comparable across stigma-related forums and non-stigma-
related forums (both ts < 1, ns): most people join forums for instru-
mental reasons, and this motivation does not differentiate users of
different types of forums. In contrast, however, users of stigma-re-
lated forums were more likely to report joining for social reasons:
to form or maintain relationships, t(252) = 4.56, p< .001, and
because there were no opportunities to meet likeminded people
nearby, t(252) = 3.21, p= .002. These reasons did not appear to
weigh as heavily for users of non-stigma-related forums.
Similarly, we conducted a one-way within-participants ANOVA
comparing ratings of how well each expectation had been met or
exceeded, and differences again emerged, F(2,530) = 85.23,
p< .001. Consonant with Hypothesis 2, participants reported that
their expectations concerning seeking information (M= 5.49,
SD = 1.42) and sharing information (M= 5.29, SD = 1.48) had been
substantially exceeded, whereas their expectations concerning
relating to others (M= 4.44, SD = 1.58), which had been lower on
average to begin with, had only been met. It is notable, however,
that all three items averaged above the midpoint of the scale, indi-
cating that users were reasonably pleased with how well their
expectations had been met overall.
Once again, we followed up by assessing whether the ratings
provided to these questions differed as a function of forum type.
The three items were all rated comparably across forums, with
all ts61.46, ns. Therefore, in these ratings no differences emerged
between users of stigma-related forums and non-stigma-related
forums.
Taking these first two sets of analyses together, we conclude
that people joining forums are not very attuned to the commu-
nity-building utility of forum membership; they are more inter-
ested in its instrumental value as a site of information transfer
between members. Indeed, the latter analysis affirms that online
forums are perceived by their users as an exceedingly successful
means of information transfer. Nonetheless, the community-build-
ing capacity of the forum is also recognized to some extent, and
importantly, there are individual differences in whether partici-
pants report that their expectations with regard to this alternative
function were met. As described above, the remainder of our analy-
ses focus on the unique utility of this variable in predicting out-
comes/benefits of forum use.
3.2. Identification with other forum users
Participants’ reports of their forum identification ranged across
the entire scale from 1 to 6 and were quite variable (M= 2.80,
SD = 1.25), supporting our contention that identification is a good
candidate variable for explaining variation in downstream out-
comes. Given this variability, it is perhaps even more notable that
users of stigma-related forums were more strongly identified with
other users than were participants affiliated with non-stigma-re-
lated forums, t(254) = 2.63, p= .008.
Importantly, participants’ reports about the fulfilment of expec-
tations predicted their forum identification. This was true for all
three areas: seeking information (r= .28), sharing information
(r= .27), and most strongly relating to others (r= .34), all three
ps < .001. Supporting Hypothesis 3, in a simultaneous regression
with all three of these variables predicting identification, only
the relating-to-others predictor remained significant (beta = .30)
whereas the other two were reduced to nonsignificance (betas less
than or equal to .07, ns). Thus, forum identification continued to
seem like a good candidate for possible mediation of the relation-
ship between forum experiences and downstream benefits.
3.3. Two key outcome measures
Users of stigma-related forums, perhaps unsurprisingly,
reported overall lower satisfaction with life than users of non-
stigma-related forums, t(255) = 4.01, p< .001. In contrast, there
was no overall difference in offline engagement with forum issues
as a function of forum type, t(256) = 1.43, ns. Supporting
Hypothesis 4, simple bivariate correlations showed that identifica-
tion was associated with both of the outcome measures, satisfac-
tion with life (r= .30, p< .001) and offline action tendencies
(r= .37, p< .001).
3.4. Indirect (mediation) effects
We used the procedure and SPSS macro written by Hayes
(2013) to compute not only the magnitude of the indirect effect
but also percentile bootstrap confidence intervals (as recom-
mended by Fritz, Taylor, & MacKinnon, 2012) to assess whether
identification serves as a mediator. To simplify matters, we created
a single ‘‘expectations exceeded’’ predictor variable, computed as
the mean of the three separate variables (
a
= .79). We specified
2000 bootstrap samples in each analysis. When the 95% confidence
interval (CI) around the effect does not contain zero, the effect
satisfies conventional standards for statistical significance.
In our first mediation analysis, with satisfaction with life as the
criterion, the indirect effect was significant (indirect effect = .09,
with a 95% bootstrap confidence interval spanning .04–.17), with
significant paths from predictor to mediator, and from mediator
to criterion. (We also computed the Sobel statistic as a supplemen-
tary analysis. It, too, confirmed that identification mediated
satisfaction with life, z= 3.13, p< .002.) The direct effect was also
significant (direct effect = .26, with a 95% confidence interval span-
ning .12–.41), t= 3.64, p= .0003.
In our second mediation analysis, with offline engagement ten-
dencies as the criterion, the indirect effect was significant (indirect
effect = .09, with a 95% bootstrap confidence interval spanning .05–
.16), with significant paths from predictor to mediator, and media-
tor to criterion. (The Sobel test again confirmed that identification
mediated offline engagement, z= 3.73, p<.001.) The direct effect
was also significant (direct effect = .28, with a 95% interval span-
ning .17–.39), t= 4.88, p< .0001.
Table 2
Correlations between key variables (below the diagonal for non-stigma forums and
above the diagonal for stigma forums).
1234567
1. Identification .53
***
.44
***
.35
***
.39
***
.39
***
.43
***
2. Satisfaction with
life
.09 .34
***
.27
**
.23
**
.38
***
.34
***
3. Offline action .31
***
.07 .32
***
.44
***
.37
***
.43
***
4. Seek
expectations
.24
**
.18
*
.13 .70
***
.53
***
.86
***
5. Share
expectations
.18
*
.24
**
.39
***
.66
***
.58
***
.88
***
6. Relate
expectations
.27
**
.13 .29
**
.47
***
.51
***
.84
***
7. Expectations
exceeded
.28
**
.23
**
.33
***
.86
***
.87
***
.79
***
*
p< .05.
**
p< .01.
***
p< .001.
216 L.F. Pendry, J. Salvatore / Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220

Thus, according to both the Sobel test approach and the cur-
rently standard approach (Preacher & Hayes, 2008), identification
does indeed mediate the relationship between having one’s social
expectations met/exceeded and the two outcomes of interest in
this paper, supporting Hypothesis 5.
3.5. Stigma as a moderator
We had hypothesized that the stigma-relevance of the forum
would moderate the mediated relationships documented above.
To test this hypothesis, we first looked at moderation of the
relationship between identification and the two outcome variables.
Identification only predicts satisfaction with life in the stigma for-
ums (bootstrapped indirect effect = .64, p< .00001) and not in the
non-stigma forums (bootstrapped indirect effect = .10, ns). In con-
trast, predicting offline engagement, mediation holds for both
forum types (both bootstrapped indirect effects between .35 and
.40 and independently significant). Therefore and supporting
Hypothesis 6, the forum type did matter, but only for satisfaction
with life. Among users of the non-stigma-related forums, identifi-
cation did not predict satisfaction with life; among users of the
stigma-related forums, it did.
To look at this differently, the bootstrapping macro allows us to
add the same moderator to the final path of the full mediational
model. Doing so shows that the mediation of satisfaction with life
is moderated by forum type. The stigma forums have a boot-
strapped indirect effect of .14 (95% CI: .07–.22), whereas the non-
stigma forums have a (nonsignificant) bootstrapped indirect effect
of .01 (95% CI: .05 to .06). Thus, supporting Hypothesis 6, the indi-
rect effects are not equivalent: the mediating role of identification
only holds for the stigma forums and not for the non-stigma for-
ums. In contrast, the bootstrapping macro shows that mediation
of offline engagement is not moderated. Both the stigma forums
and the non-stigma forums have bootstrapped indirect effects of
between .07 and .08, with the 95% CI not spanning zero. The con-
ditional indirect effect is equivalent in the different forum types.
4. Discussion
In the present research we considered the mechanisms that
may underlie two benefits of online forum involvement: well-be-
ing (satisfaction with life) and civic engagement in offline settings.
First, we found that the factor that best predicted forum identifica-
tion was the extent to which people felt the forum had met their
expectations about forming new relationships (i.e., the social
aspect of forum use rather than the instrumental aspect).
Furthermore, consistent with past work, we predicted and found
that participants’ levels of forum identification predicted their
satisfaction with life (but only for users of stigma-related forums;
see correlations in Table 2). We also found evidence that forum
identification predicted participants’ involvement in offline civic
behaviors (for users of all types of forums). Finally, we predicted
and found that identification with other forum users mediated
the relationship between expectations about forming relationships
being met and users’ satisfaction with life. To summarize, then, our
research suggests that users of discussion forums may find them-
selves with improved well-being and may also find themselves
empowered and galvanized to work for the forum cause offline.
We next discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our
findings.
4.1. Promoting individual well-being
In her early work, Turkle (e.g., 1997) argued that the internet
provided myriad positive opportunities for self-transformation,
but more recently (Turkle, 2012), she argues that the explosion
in social media options has led us to develop superficial, emotion-
ally lazy but instantly available virtual relationships as opposed to
nurturing our real friends and family. This idea has found fertile
ground (but for a critique of this view see Jurgenson, 2012). Our
data strongly suggest that not all online interactions fall into this
category. The internet has developed significantly since prelimi-
nary research and over time, it has become better integrated with
our work and home lives. Some online communication tools can
actively support our interactions and relationships (Kraut et al.,
2002). Indeed, we provide clear evidence that online forums afford
users a way of being genuinely ‘‘together, together’’, as opposed to
what Turkle (2012) calls ‘‘alone together.’’ This can reap significant
benefits for users’ well-being, especially those with a stigmatizing
issue who may prefer to limit face-to-face interaction.
As online technologies have developed, the options for online
engagement have multiplied and need to be considered as tools
that have differing functions and purposes. Researchers have sug-
gested that internet use that promotes information acquisition and
community building – such as online discussion forums, social net-
working and blogging is more positively correlated with social
capital than uses that instead pertain to entertainment and diversion
such as gaming or watching online movies (e.g., Ellison et al., 2007,
2011; Shah, Kwak, & Holbert, 2001). So, where internet use draws
people together, even if only in virtual space, it may have more
beneficial effects on users. There is already substantial evidence,
then, that social capital matters. Research that translates the many
benefits of social capital into a range of online settings makes an
important contribution at both a theoretical and applied level.
Our own findings with regards online discussion forums sug-
gest a role for group identification in enhancing social capital.
Although our findings are not causal and thus not definitive, we
think it is likely that online settings that create and support the
development of active and interactive communities will realize
the greatest social capital benefits. This is especially true for for-
ums covering more stigmatised issues where high levels of trust
can develop, leading to ‘‘a virtuous circle of caring’’ which can
greatly enhance users’ feelings of social cohesion and emotional
intelligence (Radin, 2006, p. 599). In our data, forum identification
predicted stigmatised forum users’ satisfaction with life. We also
observed that expectations about the formation of new relation-
ships being met strongly predicted users’ levels of forum identifi-
cation. Moreover, identification served to mediate the
relationship between such expectations being met and users’
satisfaction with life. The pattern in our data, therefore, suggests
that forum identification acts as a lynchpin in the process of forum
engagement and associated positive consequences. This reflects
the ‘‘social cure’’ idea (Jetten, Haslam, & Haslam, 2012) that identi-
fication is the key to many health outcomes. Identification not only
has benefits for health in and of itself, but importantly, it is the
mechanism by which other variables benefit health (i.e., benefits
via identification).
Our data echo recent research highlighting the key role that
group identification can play in managing/reducing depressive
symptoms (Cruwys et al., 2014). For those in more stigmatised
groups (including depression), links with well-being were
mediated by the degree to which members identified with other
members. The more closely they identified, the better they felt.
What is interesting about the present study, however, is that these
findings were obtained in online discussion forums, as opposed to
the face-to-face groups used in Cruwys et al.’s research. As noted,
research has tended to provide mixed evidence with regards the
social and functional utility of online contact. Our findings suggest
that online contact can indeed be very beneficial, and more so
when its members identify with others. Since one of the hallmarks
of stigmatising conditions such as depression is a tendency toward
L.F. Pendry, J. Salvatore / Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220 217

isolation and avoidance of social contact (Cacioppo, Hawkley, &
Thisted, 2010; Eberhart, Auerbach, Bigda-Peyton, & Abela, 2011;
Lumley & Harkness, 2007), encouraging individuals to sign up to
and participate in face-to-face groups may not always be achiev-
able. Online equivalents are therefore likely to remain popular
for some individuals. A promising avenue for future research will
be to test more specifically how such online group memberships
affords depressed/stigmatised group users similar positive benefits
to those found by Cruwys and colleagues in offline settings.
4.2. Promoting offline engagement in related causes
In addition to forums boosting users’ well-being and enhancing
options for social capital, they can foster a strong commitment to
the forum issues and a desire to work on behalf of the forum in
an offline capacity. In other words, offline life may be facilitated
by online activity. This is not always the case, at least for offline
political action (Boulianne, 2009). For example, Byrne’s (2007)
analysis of the BlackPlanet forum discussion threads suggested
that while forum users debated the need for protest about black
community issues, civic engagement rarely went beyond the dis-
cursive level. Past research (e.g., Wojcieszak, 2009) indicates that
links between internet use and offline civic/political activity are
likely moderated by the feasibility of possible actions. Where
actions pose a threat to the social order (e.g., extreme political par-
ties), the link is attenuated, but where the actions suggest instead a
specific agenda (e.g., challenging environmental issues) it may be
strengthened. In the forums used here, most actions fell into the
latter category (e.g., campaigning for greater promotion of non-dis-
posable diapers, improved funding for mental health). In this sense,
then, our findings fit with this notion of ‘action feasibility’.
One interesting point to note here is that there is some resis-
tance, even among those who take an identity-based perspective,
to the idea that forum identification is fully ‘‘real’’ and meaningful.
Advocates of the ‘‘social’’ (that is, identification-based) cure for
many psychological and physiological ailments are, on the whole,
extremely positive about the benefits of group membership.
Nonetheless, Jetten, Haslam, Haslam, and Branscombe (2009)
recently cautioned that ‘‘virtual-world networking can become a
substitute for real-world engagement’’ (p. 33). Our research pro-
vides an important and optimistic caveat: forums can in certain
circumstances be associated with a strong bond with others users
and a desire to work on behalf of the forum offline. Forums need
not limit real-world engagement.
Again, identity appears to play a central role in this relationship.
In our research, forum identification predicted users’ related offline
actions. This relationship was evident across all forum types.
Others have alluded to the power of forums to effect this type of
change offline (e.g., Dono et al., 2010; Fielding et al., 2008;
Hampton, 2002; Hampton & Wellman, 2000; Kavanaugh et al.,
2005; Klandermans, 2002; Pasek, More, & Romer, 2009;
Valenzuela et al., 2009). However, alongside a few others, we fur-
ther develop this idea by probing the role of identification (cf.
Brunsting & Postmes, 2002; Klandermans, 2002; van Zomeren
et al., 2008).
As our research demonstrates, the more engaged users show
the highest levels of identification with other users and are most
inclined to have their involvement spill over into related offline
actions. Online commentators have recently been promoting the
link between online activity and offline action. For example,
Jenkins (2006) coined the term ‘‘participatory culture’’ to encapsu-
late how online consumers do more than consume, they also create
and influence. Whether this civic engagement is for something as
seemingly unimportant as protesting at a cancelled TV show, or
for offline political demonstration, campaigning, donating or
volunteering on behalf of a cause a user supports, we suggest that
such empassioned offline engagement is likely possible at least in
part because users feel a strong connection to and identification
with other users.
4.3. Comparing forums to other online communities
Would any online community work the same way as the online
discussion forums we studied? For example, might Facebook or
Twitter groups perform a similar function? In recent years, after
all, there have been many accounts of Twitter/Facebook rev-
olutions leading to mass mobilization of users and concomitant
collective action to challenge or change the existing order (e.g.,
the ‘Arab Spring’, and the U.S. Occupy movement). In a sense, then,
it is not exactly news to speak of online spaces in general being
linked to civic engagement. We believe, however, that the initial
anonymity afforded by discussion forums – as they are tradition-
ally setup – is an important aspect of our findings which sets them
apart from more mainstream social media. We do acknowledge
that Facebook and Twitter act as a type of discussion forum.
However, we do not consider that they are interchangeable with
the more traditional forums used in the present research.
Importantly, Facebook/Twitter are less anonymous, since users
typically join them using their name and often a recognizable
photo, and may also elect to advertise their membership to other
friends in their settings preferences.
In direct contrast to Facebook groups, online forum interactions
may provide a valuable source of advice and support while allow-
ing people with stigmatizing conditions to remain at least initially
anonymous as they ‘lurk’ before contributing (Davison,
Pennebaker, & Dickerson, 2000). These qualities reduce users’ feel-
ing of threat and allow them to develop a sense of identity and
closeness to their like-minded virtual interaction partners (Bargh
& McKenna, 2004; Bargh, McKenna, & Fitzsimons, 2002). For users
of stigma-relevant forums, then, these aspects of online interac-
tions may represent unique benefits not fulfilled by Facebook
groups. In the rush to embrace social networking sites such as
Facebook, both academics and the broader community are in dan-
ger of losing sight of these benefits, and indeed, forgetting they
exist and may be of particular use for those who have social stig-
mas (see also Hurdley, 2013). With that said, we are not aware
of any research that has directly compared how Facebook and tra-
ditional forums work, so this view requires empirical
substantiation.
Before concluding we do need to mention two potential lim-
itations of this work. First, as noted, given the cross-sectional nat-
ure of our data, we cannot infer causal relationships. Second, users
from the different forums self-selected to participate in the study,
which limits the degree to which we can generalize our findings
(Bethlehem, 2008). This is a perpetual problem that faces most sur-
vey-based research, and particularly research conducted online,
and it is not possible to mitigate against the potential for bias
entirely. We therefore must add the caveat that this necessarily
limits somewhat the generalizability of our findings.
5. Conclusions
Dwarfed in recent years by more prominent social media giants
such as Facebook and Twitter, forums appear anecdotally to have
assumed an unfashionable status in many organizations’ eyes,
being viewed as a primitive form of communication whose time
has passed. This observation is partly based on feedback we have
received when presenting these findings at end-user conferences.
Such a view is also echoed by forum moderators themselves seek-
ing to sell the benefits. A recent comment on one large forum per-
fectly captures this mood:
218 L.F. Pendry, J. Salvatore / Computers in Human Behavior 50 (2015) 211–220

‘‘I’ve contacted a number of larger organizations with members
anywhere from 100 k to 500 k and asked them if they would be
interested in creating a discussion forum for their members. I
told them of the benefits of bringing...members closer together
by finding common interests and having a dedicated online
‘‘space’’ for them to congregate and talk about things relevant
to their organization...All of the responses I’ve received... they
have decided the direction they want to go with social media
and it is [Facebook] and Twitter, but I tell them that this is
something completely different than those two forms of [social
media].’’
[http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?p=
336934]
We agree with this poster. Forums offer something different
and their potential to provide social capital and effect related off-
line civic activity remains a largely untapped force, and one that
is in danger of being eclipsed by their larger, and more seductive
contemporary social networking cousins. If this should happen,
we would consider it a shame. The need for forums has certainly
not decreased, and forum providers should be actively promoting
the benefits of forum use more widely and energetically. The unin-
itiated may yet need convincing, but converted, committed and
active users already know that forums can transform lives. In the
words of Radin (2006, p. 599–600), the forum formula ‘‘...succeeds
in transforming many casual visitors into people who wholeheart-
edly contribute to the community...by their very existence, [online
forums] are planting the seeds of revolution.’’
Acknowledgements
Preparation of this manuscript was made possible by an
Economic and Social Research Council award (RES-000-22-3800)
to both authors.
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