ABSTRACT
The Internet contains hundreds of electronic groups and mailing lists whose ostensible purpose is to discuss problems and to provide social support. Social support is the transaction of empathy and concern, information and advice, or tangible aid between two or more individuals. Social support differences were limited to parents and casual friend, but the direction of these differences was consistent: Parents from electronic support groups viewed their parents and casual friends less favorably than non-electronic mothers. Mothers in electronic groups perceived more stigma attached to their child's special needs than other mothers. Parents recruited from electronic support groups differed from other parents across a variety of demographic characteristics: age, marital status, race, religion, education level, occupational status, child's age and diagnosis, and gender. Parents solicited from electronic support groups were, first of all, a higher socioeconomic status group and much more likely to include fathers than those solicited from the local community.
