The DOI matches its Crossref record; 73 of the 73 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Evaluation of an internet support group for women with primary breast cancer
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Women with breast carcinoma commonly experience psychologic distress following their diagnosis. Women who participate in breast cancer support groups have reported significant reduction in their psychologic distress and pain and improvement in the quality of their lives. Web‐based breast cancer social support groups are widely used, but little is known of their effectiveness. Preliminary evidence suggests that women benefit from their participation in web‐based support groups. METHODS: Seventy‐two women with primary breast carcinoma were assigned randomly to a 12‐week, web‐based, social support group (Bosom Buddies). The group was semistructured, moderated by a health care professional, and delivered in an asynchronous newsgroup format. RESULTS: The results indicate that a web‐based support group can be useful in reducing depression and cancer‐related trauma, as well as perceived stress, among women with primary breast carcinoma. The effect sizes ranged from 0.38 to 0.54. Participants perceived a variety of benefits and high satisfaction from their participation in the intervention CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the web‐based program, Bosom Buddies, was effective in reducing participants' scores on depression, perceived stress, and cancer‐related trauma measures. The effect size of the intervention was in the moderate range. Although web‐based social support groups offer many advantages, this delivery mechanism presents a number of ethical issues that need to be addressed. Cancer 2003;97:1164–73. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11174
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“In general, ISGs that are moderated by a clinician tend to show benefits (31).”
From Behavioral Intervention Technologies: Evidence review and recommendations for future research in mental health (2013) · cites this paper as [31]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. E., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.2307/1270020 · Cited by 99,603
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.).
Lachenbruch, P. A., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2290095 · Cited by 37,421
A Global Measure of Perceived Stress
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136404 · Cited by 32,807
(1970) · Cited by 24,983
Fawzy, F. I. (1993) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820210015002 · Cited by 1,030
Group Support for Patients With Metastatic Cancer: A Randomized Prospective Outcome Study
Spiegel, D. (1981) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1980.01780300039004 · Cited by 862
Measurement of depressive symptoms in cancer patients
Hann, D., Winter, K., & Jacobsen, P. (1999) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/s0022-3999(99)00004-5 · Cited by 822
Who talks? The social psychology of illness support groups.
Davison, K. P., Pennebaker, J. W., & Dickerson, S. S. (2000) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.55.2.205 · Cited by 720
Can 40 Seconds of Compassion Reduce Patient Anxiety?
Fogarty, L., Curbow, B. A., Wingard, J. R., McDonnell, K. A., & Somerfield, M. R. (1999) · Journal of Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1200/jco.1999.17.1.371 · Cited by 545
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 8
- 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016007435.x · DOI · Paper page
- King SA, 1994, Analysis of electronic support groups for recovering addicts, Interpers Comput Technol Electron J 21st Century., 2, 47
- Mickelson KD, 1997, Culture of the internet, 157
- Classen C, 1993, Brief supportive‐expressive group therapy for women with primary breast cancer: ATX manual
- Kreshka MA, 1997, One in eight: women speaking to women, a breast cancer workbook‐journal
- KoopmanC AngellK KreshkaMA et al.Workbook‐journal significantly reduces posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among rural women with primary breast cancer. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Australian Psychological Society Adelaide Australia September 22–24 2001.
- Weathers FW, 1991, PCL‐C for DSM‐IV
- Watson M, 1989, Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale: users' manual
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 401–484 of 484
Uso de internet para evaluar el distrés psicológico en pacientes con cáncer de mama
Estapé, T., Estapé, J., Soria‐Pastor, S., & Díez, A. (2014) · Psicooncología · doi:10.5209/rev_psic.2014.v11.n2-3.47388 · Cited by 1
Effectiveness of the Internet-Based Self-Help Program for Social Anxiety Disorder
안정광, 윤혜영, & Kwon, J. (2014) · The Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.15842/kjcp.2014.33.4.003 · Cited by 1
Prosoziales Handeln und Gesundheit aus Sicht der Kommunikationswissenschaft
Stehr, P. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-10727-7_43 · Cited by 1
Buultjens, J., Kozlowski, D., & Tucker, J. (2015) · Cross Connect (Southern Cross University) · Cited by 1
Psychotherapie bij trauma en verlies ten gevolge van een lichamelijke ziekte
Jaspers, J. (2004) · Tijdschrift voor Psychotherapie · doi:10.1007/bf03062087 · Cited by 1
Burman, A. B. S. (2012) · Brunel University Research Archive (BURA) (Brunel University London) · Cited by 1
Improved Patient Support through Support Group Webcasting: A Feasibility Assessment
Afrin, L. B., Greenland, W. J., & Finch, N. J. (2005) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.1109/hicss.2005.309 · Cited by 1
“In particular, live chat rooms (and related instant messaging facilities), group e-mailing (“listservs”), and web-based bulletin boards have been demonstrated to be feasible methods for this purpose [7,8,9].”
BackgroundMethodAdmiraal, J. M. (2020) · doi:10.33612/diss.112109033 · Cited by 1
“and referral to additional supportive health care services [28,33].”
BackgroundInfluentialSanjida, S. (2020) · Queensland University of Technology · doi:10.5204/thesis.eprints.192103
Anderson, J. D., Hamp, A., Militello, M., Geist, R., Anderson, J. B., Laughter, M. R., Presley, C. L., & Rundle, C. W. (2021) · doi:10.2196/preprints.33690 · Cited by 1
Ashtari, S., & Taylor, A. D. (2022) · doi:10.2196/preprints.39172 · Cited by 1
Development and Validation of a Measure for Social Support: Perceived Social Support Inventory
Clark, L. M. (2022) · doi:10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5919 · Cited by 1
“Further, some research has found positive outcomes associated with membership in groups created with the intent to provide social support to a specific aspect of the population (Logie et al., 2016; Stana et al., 2017; Winzelberg et al., 2003).”
BackgroundFaller, A. (2012) · Cardinal Scholar (Ball State University)
Analysis and Impact of Breast and Colorectal Cancer Groups on Social Networks
Díez, I. D. L. T., Martínez, B., & López-Coronado, M. (2013) · World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, September 7 - 12, 2009, Munich, Germany · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-00846-2_353
Witney, C. (2015) · Australasian Journal of Paramedicine
Devotta, K. (2012) · MacSphere (McMaster University) · doi:10.71548/22498
Buller, D. B. (2006) · Wiley Encyclopedia of Clinical Trials · doi:10.1002/9780471462422.eoct048
Batenburg, A., & Das, E. (2012) · Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
How an internet intervention works to achieve benefit for patients with coronary heart disease
Kerr, C. (2010) · UCL Discovery (University College London)
Poole, R. (2014) · ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University)
Ibanga, A. (2011) · University of Birmingham Institutional Research Archive (University of Birmingham)
Curtice, M. J. R. (2011) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.198.3.236
The Wants and Needs of Older Cancer Survivors When Searching for Online Social Support
Fraser, K. (2011) · Library and Archives Canada (Government of Canada)
When Jurisdictional Boundaries Become Barriers to Good Patient Care
Stephen, J. E., Fergus, K. D., Sellick, S. M., Speca, M., Taylor‐Brown, J., Turner, J., Collie, K., McLeod, D. L., & Rojubally, A. (2013) · Current Oncology · doi:10.3747/co.20.1209
The experience of individuals with Huntingtons disease in the Western Cape, South Africa
Joubert, N. (2014) · SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University)
Sjöholm, M. (2011) · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
A case study analysis of mediated communication interest at end-of-life
Columbo, J. A. (2011)
Internet, presse, médias : nouveaux éléments dans la communication médicale
Liebens, F., Aimont, M., Carly, B., Pastijn, A., Swimberg, S., Rozenberg, S., & Degueldre, M. (2005) · DSpace (Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique)
Optimizing quality of life in older adults with cancer
Kornblith, A. B., & Hegel, M. T. (2010) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511763182.021
A Social Marketing Approach to Recruit Cancer Survivors for Research and Treatment
Hartoonian, N. (2012) · The Scholars Repository - LLU (Loma Linda University)
Older Adults Living with Cancer: Supportive Care Needs and Utilization of Peer Support Services
Pearce, N. J. M. (2007) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
Cameron, K. (2009) · Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide)
The cancer caring salon at night: compared with daytime
Nishi, T., Ayako, T., Yoshikawa, S., Araki, A., & Miyamori, T. (2013) · Palliative Care Research · doi:10.2512/jspm.8.341
Quality of Life Issues in Patients with Skull Base Tumours
Abergel, A., Fliss, D. M., & Gil, Z. (2012) · Head and neck cancer clinics · doi:10.1007/978-81-322-2583-6_10
David, N., Schlenker, P., Prudlo, U., & Larbig, W. (2011)
Kisekka, V., Han, W., & Sharman, R. (2014)
Evaluating Use of an Online Intervention for Cancer Patients with Distress
Gorlick, A. (2013) · The Scholars Repository - LLU (Loma Linda University)
Breast Cancer Guidelines Expert Panel
Wildiers, H. P. M. W., Stordeur, S., Vlayen, J., Scholten, R. J. P. M., van de Wetering, F., Bourgain, C., Ziekenhuis, I., Carly, B., Saint-Pierre, C., Christiaens, M.-R., et al. (2013)
Expanded Behavioral Model for Online Support Services
Boxley, L. (2011) · The Scholars Repository - LLU (Loma Linda University)
Development of a Social Support Scale for Health Behaviors in College Students
Knepp, K. A. F. (2012) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech)
Brennstuhl, M., Audinet, P., & Tarquinio, C. (2017) · Annales Médico-psychologiques revue psychiatrique · doi:10.1016/j.amp.2017.04.003
Cyber Support Venues for Cancer
Blank, T., & Schmidt, S. D. (2012) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-0315-8.ch058
Kreitler, S. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-06126-5_9
Tapping into Recovery: Exploring Experiences of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Kalla, M. (2018) · Figshare · doi:10.4225/03/5a8ba3a0d049c
Classen, C. C., Krug, O. T., Dezelic, M. S., Ansell, L., Haigh, R., Hamilton, S., Lomas, F., Tizzard, S., & Welsh, H. (2019) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119167198.ch28
Self-citationSoziale Online-Netzwerke und Gesundheit
Adebahr, P., & Kriwy, P. (2019) · Springer Reference Pflege, Therapie, Gesundheit · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-58314-2_22
Hempel, S., Ganz, D. A., Clifford, M., Newberry, S. J., Lim, Y.-W., Larkin, J., Shanman, R., Wertheimer, S. R., Wenger, N. S., Roth, C. P., et al. (2011)
Wie schreib ich’s meinem Patienten? Datenschutzprobleme bei der digitalen Kommunikation
Alpers, G. W., Frey, L., Tessmer-Petzendorfer, S., Klingauf, A., & Schad, S. (2019) · Verhaltenstherapie · doi:10.1159/000504147
Self-citationWang, X., Tong, X., Zhu, Y., Tan, T., & Zheng, B. (2020) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2020.405
“One possible explanation is that emotional support itself is a critical theme in cancerrelated communication, and has been shown to increase participants’ sense of social support, personal empowerment, and self-esteem and to reduce depression, cancer-related trauma, and social isolation [25]–[29].”
BackgroundQuality of Life and Well-Being of Breast Cancer Patients
Anderson, M., Tucker, D. R., Miller, F. G., Vaz, K., Anderson-Jackson, L., & McGrowder, D. A. (2020) · Advances in psychology, mental health, and behavioral studies (APMHBS) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-1185-5.ch004
Online Research Participant Communication: Balancing Benefits and Risks
Gelinas, L. C., Morrell, W., White, S., & Bierer, B. E. (2021) · Ethics & Human Research · doi:10.1002/eahr.500094
External support factors utilized by patients in coping with cancer: a European perspective
Dobríková, P., Stachurová, D., West, D. J., Hegde, M., & Ramirez, B. (2021) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-021-06487-0
“This is per the research conducted in California where 72 women with primary breast carcinoma were assigned randomly to a 12‐ week, web‐based, self-help group and the results indicated that such groups can be useful in reducing depression and cancer‐related trauma, as well as perceived stress [15].”
MethodHealth-Related Support and Self-help Mutual Aid Groups
Gottlieb, B. H., & Stroud, K. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.14042-5
Los actores del jurado: el nuevo papel del juez, el abogado, el fiscal y el ciudadano
Morant, J. C. (1998) · Iuris: Actualidad y práctica del derecho
Soziale online Netzwerke und Gesundheit
Adebahr, P., & Kriwy, P. (2022) · Springer Reference Pflege, Therapie, Gesundheit · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-54179-1_22-2
Effects on Volunteer Peer Leaders Participating in a Health Promotion Program for U.s. Veterans
Patterson, L. (2013) · UWM Digital Commons (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee)
Identifying Temporal Changes and Topics that Promote Growth Within Online Communities
Durant, K. T., McCray, A. T., & Safran, C. (2012) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-2653-9.ch005
Ashtari, S., Taylor, J., & Goff, K. (2021) · doi:10.2196/preprints.33218
Prosoziales Handeln und Gesundheit aus Sicht der Kommunikationswissenschaft
Stehr, P. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-10948-6_43-1
Wicks, P. J., Thorley, E. M., Simacek, K. F., Curran, C. J., & Emmas, C. (2018) · doi:10.2196/preprints.9909.a
Ethics, Risk, and Media Intervention
Eid, M., & Nahón-Serfaty, I. (2016) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0549-5.ch023
Quality of Life and Well-Being of Breast Cancer Patients
Anderson, M., Tucker, D. R., Miller, F. G., Vaz, K., Anderson-Jackson, L., & McGrowder, D. A. (2022) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-6684-6299-7.ch014
Soziale online Netzwerke und Gesundheit
Adebahr, P., & Kriwy, P. (2018) · Springer Reference Pflege, Therapie, Gesundheit · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-54179-1_22-1
Soziale online Netzwerke und Gesundheit
Adebahr, P., & Kriwy, P. (2022) · Springer Reference Pflege, Therapie, Gesundheit · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-65219-0_22
Pyrzak, A., Foley, O., Grace, A., & Barber, E. L. (2022) · Journal of Gynecologic Surgery · doi:10.1089/gyn.2022.0107
“28,29 To the current authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first one to demonstrate the efficacy of the centering model for preoperative education and counseling in gynecologic oncology.”
Transtorno de estresse pós-traumático e câncer
Barbosa, L. N. F., Filho, J. W. S. C., Milet, N. C., Pires, M. C. D. C., Sougey, C. P., Sales, A. P., & Sougey, É. B. (2011) · Revista da SBPH · doi:10.57167/rev-sbph.14.431
Zaldarriaga, J. M. H., Tangco-Abao, C. E., Lopez, M. M., Magsanoc, J. M., & Pena-Camacho, A. (2024) · Journal of Medical and Radiation Oncology · doi:10.53011/jmro.2024.01.04
Psychosocial Factors and Immune Function
Alfonso, T., & Jagadesh Chander, R. (2025) · Advances in medical diagnosis, treatment, and care (AMDTC) book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-7432-0.ch005
Developing a patient-centered educational video series on sexual health for women with breast cancer
Adams, M., Higgins, M. G., Vemuru, S. R., Huynh, V. D., Coons, H. L., Baurle, E., Rojas, K. E., Hampanda, K., Zimmaro, L. A., Arkema, A., et al. (2025) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-025-09790-2
“Additionally, studies that focus on patient-directed sexual health education often describe interventions such as nursing evaluations, peer counseling, or support groups [13–16].”
Yastıbaş, C., Dirik, G., & Karaman, İ. G. Y. (2025) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2025.2575410
“However, this was not statistically significant, aligning with the study by Winzelberg et al. (2003), which had a similar support group function led by mental health professionals, as in this study.”
Andersson, G., Käll, A., Enström, M., Jonsson, L., Ehnsiö, K., Nilsson-Ihrfelt, E., Carlbring, P., & Fjällskog, M.-L. (2026) · Cognitive Behaviour Therapy · doi:10.1080/16506073.2026.2635464
Preferences for e-Mental Health Interventions in Germany: A Discrete Choice ExperimentPreprint
Himmler, S., & Phillips, E. A. (2021) · OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Boda, K., Almási, R., Bíró, D., & Csathó, Á. (2026) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107291
Shah, S. J., Tate, S., Dunn, M. W., Milowsky, M. I., Lazard, A. J., Song, L., Usinger, D., Vu, M. B., Cross, M., DeSelm, R., et al. (2026) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-026-11058-2
“However, the adoption and impact will ultimately depend on design and implementation to engage, cultivate trust, and meet the personal support needs of users [39, 40].”
Park, D., & Choi, D. (2026) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/95025
“…support, in which support seekers and supporters interact within online communities, has become prevalent across diverse topics, including cancer [15-17], HIV [11], pregnancy [18], and sexual experiences [19,20], on multiple platforms such as Reddit (Reddit, Inc) [21] and TalkLife (TalkLife Ltd)…”
Soares, A. M., Carreiras, D., Veloso, B., Pereira, A., Costa, P., Mind Project Team, Moreira, H., & Trindade, I. A. (2026) · British Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjhp.70107
Ervüz, C., Arı, F., & Ağaoğlu, S. (2026) · Journal of Social Work Practice · doi:10.1080/02650533.2026.2741231
Online Support Groups for Depression and Anxiety: Outcome and Process
Dean, J. (2014) · UCL Discovery (University College London)
Metadata
- Authors
- Winzelberg, A. J., Classen, C., Alpers, G. W., Roberts, H., Koopman, C., Adams, R. E., Ernst, H., Dev, P., & Taylor, C. B.
- Affiliations
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Winzelberg, Andrew J.
- Venue
- Cancer
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2003-02-20
- Volume
- 97
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1164-1173
- ISSN
- 0008-543X (ISSN-L)
- 1097-0142
- OpenAlex
- W2035352836
- Cited by
- 485
- References
- 71
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 44 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 8.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Cancer (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- MADOC (University of Mannheim) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Women's cancer prevention and management
- Keywords
- breast cancer, online social support, psychological distress, depression, perceived stress, newsgroups, quality of life, patient satisfaction
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Breast Neoplasms, Depression, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Self-Help Groups, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Patient Satisfaction, Internet
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
