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Differences in results between these two analyses suggest that, the higher observed
levels of specific disclosure attributes in messages to the group compared to messages
to individuals, may be partly attributed to the differences in the levels of disclosure to
each target group. Alternatively, an increase in the variability of measures coupled with a
slight decrease in the power of comparisons may have also reduced the ability of the
within-disclosure analysis to discern differences between target groups. When
considering both tables 2 and 3, it is difficult to choose between these explanations since
typically in table 3 the direction of these differences remained the same and their
magnitude was only slightly diminished.
RQ3 asked whether users limited their more personal disclosure to the topic of
cancer, or if personal messages may have expanded to include other topics as
relationships developed and recovery progressed. For women participating during month
1, nearly all of the disclosures containing a high level of ego-relevance, positive affect, or
negative affect occurred within cancer-related messages (Table 5) and the magnitude of
this difference was similarly strong during month 2 (p<.001). Similar findings were also
obtained if the population was limited to only those women who participated during both
months.
To assess possible communication differences in those who stayed with the
group after the first month compared with those who left it, messages sent during the
first month of participation were compared in these two groups. Both general and
specific communication differences were apparent between these women (Table 6).
Those who dropped out of the discussion group after the first month sent only 20% of
their messages to single targets, while those who continued participating divided their
early messages more evenly, addressing 45% of messages to individuals.
Those who dropped out also had a slightly but significantly higher overall percentage
of disclosure in their messages, although no such difference was apparent within
Convention