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Social capital and social support on the web: the case of an internet mother site
Article first published online: 28 NOV 2005
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2005.00464.x
Additional Information
How to Cite
Drentea, P. and Moren-Cross, J. L. (2005), Social capital and social support on the web: the case of an internet mother site. Sociology of Health & Illness, 27: 920–943. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2005.00464.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 28 NOV 2005
- Article first published online: 28 NOV 2005
- Abstract
- Article
- References
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Keywords:
- social capital;
- social support;
- mothers;
- internet
Abstract
Do virtual communities in cyberspace foster social capital and social support? Using participant observation and discourse analysis, we examine a mothering board on a parent's website and investigate whether social capital was present, and if so, how it was developed and used. We find three main types of communication emerge from our analysis: emotional support, instrumental support – both formal and informal, and community building/protection, all of which contribute to the creation and maintenance of social capital. Additionally, using sampling with replacement, we created a final data set of 180 mothers and report descriptive statistics to identify characteristics of those on the board.