Table 1.
Summary of measures and item loadings
| Construct | Items (item loading) |
| Perceived empathy (7-point semantic differential scale) | |
| During my interactions in the online community, I felt the community to be | |
| Unsympathetic/sympathetic | 0.890 |
| Sincere/insincere | 0.847 |
| Not compassionate/compassionate | 0.839 |
| Not heart-felt/heart-felt | 0.821 |
| Tolerant/intolerant | 0.816 |
| Insensitive/sensitive | 0.811 |
| Cold/warm | 0.776 |
| Supportive/not supportive | 0.616 |
| Information seeking effectiveness (7-point Likert-type scale) | |
| I obtain information that is readily usable | 0.920 |
| I obtain information that is credible | 0.906 |
| I obtain information that is relevant | 0.905 |
| I obtain information that is reliable | 0.897 |
| I obtain information in a timely manner | 0.886 |
| Perceived social support (7-point Likert-type scale) | |
| I could count on my friends in the discussion board when things went wrong | 0.904 |
| I had friends in the discussion board with whom I could share my joys and sorrows | 0.903 |
| I got the emotional help and support I needed from the discussion board | 0.901 |
| I could talk about my problems with the members in the discussion board | 0.890 |
| I knew someone in the discussion board who was a real source of comfort to me | 0.885 |
| Homophily (7-point semantic differential scale) | |
| Members in this community | |
| Behave like me/do not behave like me | 0.907 |
| Think like me/don't think like me | 0.854 |
| Have a health situation similar to mine/have a health situation different from mine | 0.851 |
| Are from a social class similar to mine/are from a social class different from mine | 0.846 |
| Are unlike me/are like me | 0.792 |
| Have a health background different from mine/have a health background similar to mine | 0.745 |