Self-disclosure of Mentally Ill individuals in Private Facebook Groups: The Means-End Chain Model

This study focuses on mentally ill individuals' self-disclosure in Facebook private groups. The research corpus consists of 30 semi-structured personal interviews. The study was conducted according to a qualitative paradigm and the means–end approach. The aim of the study was to examine which features of Facebook groups, and which personal values encourage the mentally ill to reveal their personal story in private groups. Results indicate that a sense of personal security in the group, self-fulfillment and, most importantly a sense of belonging to the group are the three main values that contribute to mentally ill individuals' choice to engage in self-disclosure on Facebook private groups. This research can assist developers to design better tools that will suit the unique needs of mentally ill people and provide them an appropriate platform where they can express their voice.