Uncovering social support among users affected by violence on social media: An analysis of violence-related posts and reactions on Reddit (Preprint)

Abstract

Domestic and other forms of violence are widespread and can cause victims’ distress. Reddit, a popular social media platform, has become a space where victims can share their experiences of violence and seek support from others. However, research is lacking on the type of information shared by victims about their experiences and on how other Reddit users respond to their posts.

To fill the research gap, we aim to use data from seven violence-related subreddits to characterize how violence victims were supported by other users.

We (1) identified themes in victims’ posts about violence using BERT models; (2) analyzed the sentiments of posts and their corresponding comments, testing for variations by theme; and (3) examined the types of support users provided in all comments and in negative comments responding to the three most common themes by using Biterm Topic Modelling.

The results show that Reddit provides a platform for victims to share their experiences of violence, and that these can be grouped into eight themes. The most common themes were “Emotional Pain and Communication Struggles in Abusive Relationships”, “Emotional Impact and Coping Strategies in Abusive Relationships” and “Physical Violence and Confrontations in Domestic Settings”. Responses (comments) tended to carry positive or neutral sentiment, and were more likely to provide emotional or informational support than instrumental or appraisal support.

The results indicate that victims of violence relying on social media platforms like Reddit for support may need additional support from services to meet appraisal needs (information which useful for self-evaluation).