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Computer‐Mediated Social Support: Single Young Mothers as a Model System
Open accessAbstract
Forty‐two single mothers with young infants were given access to a computer‐mediated social support (CMSS) network concerned with parenting issues. The network operated 24 hours per day over a period of 6 months. It permitted public message exchanges, private e‐mail, and text‐based teleconferencing for as many as 8 participants at any one time. During the 6 month intervention, the 42 women accessed the network over 16,670 times. Individual differences in participation were significantly associated with indices of social isolation from peers. A descriptive analyses of the messages exchanged on the network disclosed that 98% of the replies to concerns posted in the public forum provided positive social support. The majority of the supportive replies fell into the category of emotional support, followed in order by informational and tangible support. Both the self‐report data following the intervention, and qualitative data extracted from online discussions indicated that close personal relationships and a sense of community developed in this novel social environment. Finally, an analysis of pretest–posttest changes in the level of parenting stress revealed that mothers who participated regularly in this CMSS community were more likely to report a decrease in parenting stress following the intervention.
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“However, most of these interventions cater only to mothers [32,35,37,38] and are only introduced during the postnatal period [28,30,31,33,34,38].”
From Effectiveness of a Technology-Based Supportive Educational Parenting Program on Parental Outcomes (Part 1): Randomized Controlled Trial (2019) · cites this paper as [35]
In the citing paper
“This corresponds with previous technology-based intervention studies, which were shown to not only boost PSE [28-31] but also increase parenting satisfaction [28,30,31], parental bonding [32,33], and perceived social support [29,31,34-36] and reduce postpartum psychological disorders [32,35,37].”
From Effectiveness of a Technology-Based Supportive Educational Parenting Program on Parental Outcomes (Part 1): Randomized Controlled Trial (2019) · cites this paper as [35]
In the citing paper
“Some researchers have undertaken impressive work, demonstrating that Internet interventions can be used by and can benefit severely disadvantaged groups, including homeless drug users [25], single teenage mothers [26], and vulnerable elderly people [27].”
From Web-Based Interventions for Behavior Change and Self-Management: Potential, Pitfalls, and Progress (2012) · cites this paper as [26]
Citations
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References 62 · Cited by 193
Research works printed but not linked: 10
- Abidin R., 1986, Parenting Stress Index: Test manual
- Dunst C., 1986, Resource scale for teenage mothers
- Gottlieb B. H., 1984, Social support: Theory research and application, 417
- Hartup W., 1983, Handbook of child psychology, socialization and personality development, 103
- Ireton H., 1988, Manual for the Preschool Development Inventory
- Lea M., 1996, Understudied relationships: Off the beaten track
- Leatham G., 1990, Personal relationships and social support
- Pierce G., 1994, Communication of social support: Messages, interactions, relationships, and community, 247
- Raver C., 1995, Joint attention: Its origins and role in development, 251
- Sarason I, 1994, Communication of social support: Messages, interactions, relationships, and community, 91
Metadata
- Authors
- Dunham, P. J., Hurshman, A., Litwin, E., Gusella, J., Ellsworth, C., & Dodd, P. W. D.
- Affiliations
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- Bell (Canada) (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Dunham, Philip J.
- Venue
- American Journal of Community Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1998-04
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 281-306
- ISSN
- 0091-0562 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2770
- OpenAlex
- W1791878208
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 17.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- American Journal of Community Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Dalhousie University
- Health Canada
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Keywords
- single mothers, parental stress, social isolation, emotional support, online communities, email, peer support networks, infant care
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Female, Humans, Mothers, Social Support, Telecommunications, Single Parent
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Computer‐Mediated Social Support: Single Young Mothers as a Model System. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1023/a:1022132720104
- The paper
- Dunham, P. J., Hurshman, A., Litwin, E., Gusella, J., Ellsworth, C., & Dodd, P. W. D. (1998). Computer‐Mediated Social Support: Single Young Mothers as a Model System. American Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1023/a%3A1022132720104
