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Peer support instead of community solidarity among people with psychiatric diagnosis: Examining an online, anonymous self-help website
10-33Views:142In our research, we examined the first social networking website in Hungary that was specifically and explicitly designed for people with mental health problems and their relatives, or for people interested in the topic. A unique feature is that in 2021, it will still be possible to register anonymously and post comments on the site. Our research explores the life situations of people diagnosed as psychiatrically ill based on the concept of the recovery model, and therefore a central question for us is how an online self-help, peer support group can contribute to the recovery of individuals. In addition, one of the main hypotheses of our research is that community solidarity towards people with a psychiatric diagnosis is very low at different levels of society, and therefore self-help and peer support, also provided by the site we are investigating, may be of particular importance for the people concerned. We assume that they are a group that is highly stigmatised and socially rejected. In the media they are typically either invisible or portrayed as violent, aggressive figures. The Covid19 epidemic situation has led to many people experiencing psychological difficulties because of quarantine or the long-term side effects of the virus itself, which have been thematised in the media, but we believe that the mechanisms of solidarity with those diagnosed as psychiatric patients have not fundamentally changed (see for example the first establishment of psychiatric hospital wards
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Online activities of Alzheimer Cafes in the 6 months preceding and following the coronavirus outbreak
42-64Views:186Alzheimer Cafés may play an important psychosocial supporting role in the life of people living with dementia and of their family caregivers by providing a community of understanding, inclusion, solidarity and mutual support. They can promote policy-, professional- and social discourses, the recognition of dementia as a social reality, and overall awareness of this complex challenge. They can also foster transdisciplinary collaboration among professionals as well as between professionals and lay people affected by dementia based on mutual understanding, catalysing the formation and operation of acting communities and networks of interest.
The active and purposeful presence and activities of Alzheimer Cafés on Internet platforms, in the increasingly prominent channels and fields of social discourse and community life in the 21st century, can be an important tool in the realization of these benefits.
This two-part paper analyses the publicly accessible online footprint and behaviour of Alzheimer Cafés from this perspective as measured by a list of 10 possible functions. It scrutinizes the realisation of possible benefits and advantages offered by Internet platforms between September 2019 and August 2020, with a special focus on technology-based adaptive responses to the coronavirus-outbreak midway through that period.
The first part of the paper (Kucsera – Holpert 2021) briefly overviewed the Alzheimer Café concept and its history in Hungary, presented the methodology of the study and the first half of the research results. This second part of the paper presents the rest of the results, and makes recommendations for making more effective use of the potential of online platforms to realise the goals.
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The effect of successfulness on family and friendly relationships
54-71Views:264The study examines the impact of leadership roles and success on family and friendship relationships between men and women. The literature on this topic typically focuses on the analysis of success and failure, but the impact of family and friendships on leadership success is a less published area. The questionnaire data collection (n = 437) was conducted among women and men using a snowball method, with separate questionnaires. The questionnaire data were analysed using ANOVA test and Chi-square test. Research findings suggest that female and male leaders differ in their perceptions of the impact of their own successful leadership roles. Male leaders perceived personal skills, unique ideas, reputation and spousal support as determinants of successful leadership, whereas female respondents did not perceive these factors as being important. More than half of men (51.8%) agreed with the statement that their leadership successes have led them to make new friends instead of old ones. This compares with only 4% of women. Almost half of female leaders (47.1%) believe that they have kept their old friends. Less than half (45.1%) of women feel that leadership has had a positive or negative impact on family and relationships.
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Online activities of Alzheimer Cafes in the 6 months preceding and following the coronavirus outbreak
19-41Views:211Alzheimer Cafés may play an important psychosocial supporting role in the life of people living with dementia and of their family caregivers by providing a community of understanding, inclusion, solidarity and mutual support. They can promote policy-, professional- and social discourses, the recognition of dementia as a social reality, and overall awareness of this complex challenge. They can also foster transdisciplinary collaboration among professionals as well as between professionals and lay people affected by dementia based on mutual understanding, catalysing the formation and operation of acting communities and networks of interest.
The active and purposeful presence and activities of Alzheimer Cafés on Internet platforms, in the increasingly prominent channels and fields of social discourse and community life in the 21st century, can be an important tool in the realization of these benefits.
This two-part paper analyses the publicly accessible online footprint and behaviour of Alzheimer Cafés from this perspective as measured by a list of 10 possible functions. It scrutinizes the realisation of possible benefits and advantages offered by Internet platforms between September 2019 and August 2020, with a special focus on technology-based adaptive responses to the coronavirus-outbreak midway through that period.
This first part of the paper, which briefly overviews the Alzheimer Café concept and its history in Hungary, and then presents the methodology of the study and the first half of the research results. The second part of the paper will continue to present the results, and will make recommendations for making more effective use of the potential of online platforms to realise the goals.
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Visibility of marginalized social groups from a network perspective
83-108Views:612The study examines the segregation of different marginalized social groups – ex-prisoners, gypsies, gays and lesbians, homeless people – and their visibility in society. Using a size generator network method, the study builds negative binomial models to compare the segregation of marginalized groups within a representative sample of 1000 people. The alpha value in these models indicates the level of overdispersion. According to the results, the level of segregation varies between the overall network and the trust network. Specifically, the level of segregation for gypsies is the lowest in the overall network, whereas in the trust network, it is the lowest for gays/lesbians. The segregation of homeless people is extremely high, which is due to the fact that they are confined to their own space. Individuals with low education, belonging to lower classes, living in villages have the smallest network size. However, they have the highest number of marginalized social group members. A smaller network is associated with lower levels of peer support. The lack of weak bonds makes the social network homophilic and „island-like” social exlusions are formed where poverty and vulnerability are typical.
