Wombacher K, Sheff SE, Itrich N. (2019). Social support for active substance users: A content analysis of r/Drugs. Health Communication. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1587691
Researchers analyzed post content and engagement on r/Drugs, a Reddit forum (i.e. subreddit) dedicated to discussing substance use, to understand social support exchanges. Researchers extracted all posts on r/Drugs from a 3-day period (N=575), including the title, body, number of responses, and overall score (aggregate of up-votes and down-votes) for each post. Researchers coded posts for topics discussed and types of social support addressed: informational, emotional, network, esteem, and tangible support. Types of social support were further categorized as action-facilitating support (informational, tangible support) or nurturant support (emotional, network, esteem support). Content related to action-facilitating support was observed in 81% of posts, addressing 14 topics (effects, dosage, combining drugs, safety, addiction/recovery, legality/consequences, mental health, administration methods, substance identification/quality, medical system involvement, selling drugs, sexuality [i.e. how drug use interacts with users’ sexual experiences], etiquette [i.e. acceptable behavior when using drugs]). Content related to nurturant support was observed in 21% of posts, addressing 5 topics (depression/anxiety, addiction/recovery, bad trips, relationships, self-harm). Drug effects (54%), dosage (37%), and combining drugs (25%) appeared in the highest percentages of posts. Posts received an average of 14.7 responses. Posts discussing selling drugs (40.6), sexuality (39.5), and etiquette (39.3) received the highest average number of responses. Posts received an average score of 26.7. Posts discussing relationships (149.9), self-harm (103.3), and recovery (92.9) received the highest average scores. Researchers conclude that r/Drugs is primarily used to exchange action-facilitating support, particularly relating to achieving desired effects by varying dosage and combinations of drugs. Further research needs to explore whether discussions on r/Drugs provide harm reduction or merely encourage substance use.