Posting patterns in peer online support forums and their associations with emotions and mood in bipolar disorder: Exploratory analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mental health (MH) peer online forums offer robust support where internet access is common, but healthcare is not, e.g., in countries with under-resourced MH support, rural areas, and during pandemics. Despite their widespread use, little is known about who posts in such forums, and in what mood states. The discussion platform Reddit is ideally suited to study this as it hosts forums (subreddits) for MH and non-MH topics. In bipolar disorder (BD), where extreme mood states are core defining features, mood influences are particularly relevant.

Objectives

This exploratory study investigated posting patterns of Reddit users with a self-reported BD diagnosis and the associations between posting and emotions, specifically: 1) What proportion of the identified users pos

SUBMITTER: Jagfeld G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10519601 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature