Twitch Users' Motivations and Practices During Community Mental Health Discussions

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (GROUP) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Jirassaya Uttarapong ◽  
Nina LaMastra ◽  
Reesha Gandhi ◽  
Yu-hao Lee ◽  
Chien Wen (Tina) Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Live Streaming ◽  
User Hierarchy ◽  
Social Motivations

Live streaming is a form of media that allows streamers to directly interact with their audience. Previous research has explored mental health, Twitch.tv and live streaming platforms, and users' social motivations behind watching live streams separately. However, few have explored how these all intertwine in conversations involving intimate, self-disclosing topics, such as mental health. Live streams are unique in that they are largely masspersonal in nature; streamers broadcast themselves to mostly unknown viewers, but may choose to interact with them in a personal way. This study aims to understand users' motivations, preferences, and habits behind participating in mental health discussions on live streams. We interviewed 25 Twitch viewers about the streamers they watch, how they interact in mental health discussions, and how they believe streamers should discuss mental health on live streams. Our findings are contextualized in the dynamics in which these discussions occur. Overall, we found that the innate design of the Twitch platform promotes a user-hierarchy in the ecosystem of streamers and their communities, which may affect how mental health is discussed.

scholarly journals An Exploration of Mental Health Discussions in Live Streaming Gaming Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reesha Gandhi ◽  
Christine L. Cook ◽  
Nina LaMastra ◽  
Jirassaya Uttarapong ◽  
Donghee Yvette Wohn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New Media ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Live Streaming ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Sensitive Topics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Motivations ◽  
Gaming Communities

Live streaming is a unique form of media that creates a direct line of interaction between streamers and viewers. While previous research has explored the social motivations of those who stream and watch streams in the gaming community, there is a lack of research that investigates intimate self-disclosure in this context, such as discussing sensitive topics like mental health on platforms such as Twitch.tv. This study aims to explore discussions about mental health in gaming live streams to better understand how people perceive discussions of mental health in this new media context. The context of live streaming is particularly interesting as it facilitates social interactions that are masspersonal in nature: the streamer broadcasts to a larger, mostly unknown audience, but can also interact in a personal way with viewers. In this study, we interviewed Twitch viewers about the streamers they view, how and to what extent they discuss mental health on their channels in relation to gaming, how other viewers reacted to these discussions, and what they think about live streams, gaming-focused or otherwise, as a medium for mental health discussions. Through these interviews, our team was able to establish a baseline of user perception of mental health in gaming communities on Twitch that extends our understanding of how social media and live streaming can be used for mental health conversations. Our first research question unraveled that mental health discussions happen in a variety of ways on Twitch, including during gaming streams, Just Chatting talks, and through the stream chat. Our second research question showed that streamers handle mental health conversations on their channels in a variety of ways. These depend on how they have built their channel, which subsequently impacts how viewers perceive mental health. Lastly, we learned that viewers’ reactions to mental health discussions depend on their motivations for watching the stream such as learning about the game, being entertained, and more. We found that more discussions about mental health on Twitch led to some viewers being more cautious when talking about mental health to show understanding.

Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Scale to Assess the Therapeutic Relationship in Community Mental Health Care (D-STAR)

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Loos ◽  
Reinhold Kilian ◽  
Thomas Becker ◽  
Birgit Janssen ◽  
Harald Freyberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Community Mental Health Care ◽  
German Version

Objective: There are presently no instruments available in German language to assess the therapeutic relationship in psychiatric care. This study validates the German version of the Scale to Assess the Therapeutic Relationship in Community Mental Health Care (D-STAR). Method: 460 persons with severe mental illness and 154 clinicians who had participated in a multicenter RCT testing a discharge planning intervention completed the D-STAR. Psychometric properties were established via item analysis, analyses of missing values, internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, convergent validity was scrutinized via calculating correlations of the D-STAR scales with two measures of treatment satisfaction. Results: As in the original English version, fit indices of a 3-factor model of the therapeutic relationship were only moderate. However, the feasibility and internal consistency of the D-STAR was good, and correlations with other measures suggested reasonable convergent validity. Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the D-STAR are acceptable. Its use can be recommended in German-speaking countries to assess the therapeutic relationship in both routine care and research.

Community Mental Health: Promising or Delivering?

1976 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 705-706
Author(s):  
BONNIE SPRING
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Mental Health
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