PERSONALITY’S SUPPORT BY ELECTRONIC MEANS: SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT

Abstract

Purpose. The paper is dedicated to the theoretical review of the researches on the electronic assistance of persons suffering from difficult life circumstances. Due to the lack of systematic studies of the socio-psychological aspects of such support, the purpose was to identify socio-psychological predictors which enhance the personality’s psychological well-being as a result of their participation in online peer-support groups.

Methods. The study used theoretical methods of information collecting, analyzing, and generalizing. The systematic analysis of the sources was carried out in three stages: the first stage was the selection of the newest researches on the identified issues by Google Scholar subscription; the second stage included manual search and selection of sources in the Web of Science Core Collection based on thematic queries in various refinements; at the third stage, among all selected sources, there were analyzed those that contained in the text any socio-psychological indicators of increase in the respondents’ psychological well-being.

Results. A systematic review of the literature showed that the effectiveness of electronic means in socio-psychological support of the person is conditioned, first of all, by the social support need’s satisfaction. It is found that its components – informational (exchange of practical advice and knowledge), emotional (expressive response and utilization of affect), esteem (reinterpretation of painful experience and motivation to act), network (widening of the circle of contacts), and tangible (acting help and material means’ exchange) support – can be successfully implemented in an online environment. Other socio-psychological predictors of the individual’s psychological well-being enhancing by means of electronic support are defined as the mechanism of social identification with the online group and a sense of belonging to it; a sense of community through similar experiences; conventionality and respect for personal boundaries; lurking as an online-specific phenomenon of user interaction with a group without self-expression seen by others. It is shown that the described predictors can have a positive effect on the psychological well-being of supported ones if their personal characteristics are taken into account.

Conclusions. The described socio-psychological predictors of the online support impact on enhancing the psychological well-being of its participants will form the basis of an empirical model for the study of electronic socio-psychological support for victims of military actions in the East of Ukraine.