Who talks? The social psychology of illness support groups

More Americans try to change their health behaviors through self-help than through all other forms of professionally designed programs. Mutual support groups, involving little or no cost to participants, have a powerful effec t on mental and physical health, yet little is known about patterns of supp ort group participation in health care. What kinds of illness experiences p rompt patients to seek each other's company? In art effort to observe socia l comparison processes with real-world relevance, support group participati on was measured for 20 disease categories in 4 metropolitan areas (New York , Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas) and on 2 on-line forums. Support seekin g was highest for diseases viewed as stigmatizing (e.g., AIDS, alcoholism, breast and prostate cancer) and was lowest for less embarrassing but equall y devastating disorders, such as heart disease. The authors discuss implica tions for social comparison theory and its applications in health care.