| The shame and isolation that often accompanies self-injury make Internet message boards an attractive source of social support for those who engage in self-injurious behavior. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to provide an examination of the subjective experience of readiness to change, treatment seeking behavior, and social identity formation among adult self-injurers who use Internet message boards. This study recruited 36 adults from self-injury message boards and utilized both quantitative and qualitative measures. The web-based questionnaire that was used in this study combined an adaptation of the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale and survey questions generated by the researcher. The results suggest that participation in these online communities has a range of benefits, which tend to outweigh the potential for harmful experiences. Message board users appear to vary widely with regard to their readiness to change self-injurious behavior, and benefit from their involvement in ways that are similar to that of group therapy, without barriers to access such as time and geography. The features of self-injury message boards that users appear to find most valuable are convenience, accessibility, anonymity, honesty, and acceptance. The findings of this study suggest that clinicians should not assume that using self-injury message boards is inherently harmful to clients, and should consider exploring with clients the manner in which self-injury message board participation may or may not be a useful adjunct to therapy. |
