Peer support of fathers on Reddit: Quantifying the stressors, behaviors, and drivers

Teague, Samantha J.;Shatte, Adrian B.R.

Abstract

This paper aimed to delineate the behavioralpatterns of fathers in seeking and providing peer support on the popular social media site Redditusing a sample of 2,393users. First, fathers’ support-seeking posts were characterized, finding that fathers self-disclosed a range of individual, familial, and societal stressors,including topics sensitive to traditional male gender roles. Second, peers’ commentswere differentiatedby support type, withdifferences observed in thebehaviors, emotions, andlanguage that peers use when providing advice, confirmation and encouragement.Third, the relationship between types of fatherhood stressors and their associated peer commentswas mapped.While fathers seeking support forindividual stressors received fewer comments, the support provided utilizedmore action-oriented language. Finally, a statistical model was developed to examine the factors that drive peer support on the fatherhood forums, which are observed to influence the qualityof peers’ comments and peers’ commenting behaviors. Combined, the findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the peer support environment for fathers on social media like Reddit, strengthening the research literature that is limited to qualitative evidence to date. The results have important implications for formal support services targeting fathers,both online and offline

Journal

Psychology of Men & Masculinity

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1939-151X

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American Psychological Association

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DOI

10.1037/men0000353