1
Introduction
Disclosure is a communication behavior likely to influence the most central
aspects of our lives, such as our interpersonal relationships (Dindia,1994) and overall
health (Tardy, 2000). Disclosure alone does not ensure the development of intimacy,
but the ability to share the personal details of our lives is usually essential to establishing
close connections with others (Derlega et al., 1993; Reis & Patrick, 1996). These
significant relationships can, in turn, provide us with an ongoing source of social support
that may bolster psychological and physical health (Strobe & Stroebe, 1996). Also,
independent of social support, the act of sharing the details and emotions about
upsetting life events alone may allow us to find greater insight and meaning in our
experiences and enhance emotional and physical well being (Pennebaker, 1997).
Asynchronous online support groups are proposed to create additional
opportunities for engaging in this important communication behavior by easing some of
the typical barriers to disclosure. For example, online groups may diminish social
embarrassment or stigma through anonymity while reducing or eliminating
inconveniences due to time or distance (King & Moreggi,1998). Nevertheless, little is
known about specific communication processes occurring within online support groups
(Chang, et al, 2001).
Research on disclosure in general has been limited by a failure to adequately
separate this concept into more specific dimensions (Holtgraves, 1990; Dindia, 2000).
Similarly, the small amount of information available about disclosure in online support
groups has lacked any specific assessments of the disclosure dimensions likely to be
most relevant to both relationship development and health outcomes, such as the depth
or intimacy level of disclosure and the level of emotions conveyed.
This study attempts to begin such an analysis by quantifying several disclosure
dimensions in the context of an online support group for women with breast cancer, a
Convention