Apoio social entre cuidadores de crianças e jovens com deficiência em plataformas sociais online

Abstract

Caregivers may experience psychosocial changes and routine readjustments, which underlie the process of adaptation to parenthood. In this process, the Internet may be a source of social support that helps the enhancement of parental competency. The objective of this study was to analyze the social support relationships among caregivers of children and youth with disabilities on online social platforms. Therefore, two interconnected studies were performed: 1) networked integrative literature review, aiming to analyze the international landscape regarding research on online social support among caregivers of children and youth in the last 10 years; and 2) exploratory study, aiming to analyze the social support relationships among participants in a discussion group focused on children and youth with disabilities on Facebook. The results of both studies indicate that online platforms may be used as environments to promote social support among caregivers, mainly emotional and informational social support. Likewise, both studies corroborate the predominance of female participants in groups of caregivers on online social platforms. Additionally, the studies showed that “likes” may have a central role in the promotion of online social support. We highlight that posts comprising “sharing personal experiences” and/or “questions” about specific subjects may be more effective to obtain online social support among caregivers.