English Survey

Demographic data
1.	age 2.	sex 3.	state 4.	family status 5.	religion 6.	number of learning years 7.	number of years connected to the internet

Measures of forum membership
1.	I send posts in the forum. Yes/no 2.	I only read what they write on the forum and I don’t respond. Yes/no. 3.	When did you start being a forum member? a.	in the last two weeks b.	last six months c.	since the beginning of the forum

Please note for the following questions the level in which they apply to you from 1 to 7: (1) not at all (7) very important

4.	To what extent do you feel you belong in the forum? 5.	How important is the forum in your life? 6.	To what extent do you tend to share your forum friends with embarrassing things about yourself that you don’t share with your family and friends? 7.	To what extent your forum membership made you feel detached from your family and friends? 8.	To what extent do you feel embarrassed of your forum membership? 9.	To what extent your forum membership helped you open-up to your family and friends? 10.	How important are the response of the forum members to your posts is to you? 11.	What is your degree of participation in the forum? 12.	To what extent your participation in the forum makes you feel good about your self? 13.	To what extent do you feel that your environment (family/friends) accept your forum membership? 14.	How embarrassed do you think you’ll be if people found out about your forum membership? 15.	To what extent is the forum important to you? 16.	How important are the interactions with other members of the forum to you? 17.	How important to you is to be understood by the forum members? 18.	To what extent did the forum membership aid you in obtaining your identity? 19.	Do you include your friends/family in matters you would not have had you not been a member of the forum? Yes/No 20.	I became a member of the forum because I couldn’t find a similar interest group off-line. Yes/No 21.	When do you respond to things written in the forum? a.	Immediately after they’re posted. b.	1-2 hours after they’re posted. c.	During the day they’re posted. d.	The next day. e.	When I get the chance.

General well-being Schedule
(The scale is a structured for assessing self-representations of subjective well being)

1.	How have you been feeling in general? (during the past month) a.	excellent b.	very good spirits c.	good spirits d.	up and down spirits e.	low spirits f.	very low spirits

2.	Have nervousness or your “nerves” bothered you? (during the past month) a.	very much so b.	quite a bit c.	some d.	a little e.	not at all

3.	Have you been in firm control of your behavior, thoughts, emotions or feelings? (during the past month) a.	definitely so b.	yes, for the most part c.	generally so d.	not to well e.	no, some what disturbed f.	very disturbed

4.	Have you felt so sad, discouraged, hopeless, or had so many problems that you wondered if anything was worthwhile? (during the past month) a.	extremely b.	very much so c.	quite a bit d.	some e.	a little f.	not at all

5.	Did your participation in Internet groups had helped you deal with these feelings? a.	extremely b.	very much so c.	quite a bit d.	some e.	a little f.	not at all

6.	Have you been under or felt you were under any strain, stress, or pressure? (during the past month) a.	yes, quite a bit b.	yes, some more c.	yes, about the same d.	yes a little e.	not at all

7.	How happy, satisfied, or pleased have you been with your personal life? (during the past month) a.	very happy b.	fairly happy c.	satisfied d.	somewhat dissatisfied e.	very dissatisfied

8.	Have you had reason to wonder if you were losing your mind, or losing control over the way you act, talk, think, feel, or of your memory? (during the past month) a.	not at all b.	only a little c.	some, not concerned d.	some concerned e.	some quit concerned f.	yes, very concerned

9.	Has your daily life been full of things that were interesting to you? (during the past month) a.	all the time b.	most of the time c.	a good bit of the time d.	some of the time e.	a little of the time f.	none of the time

10. Have you felt downhearted and blue? (During the past month) a.	all the time b.	most of the time c.	a good bit of the time d.	some of the time e.	a little of the time f.	none of the time

11.	How concerned or worried about your health have you been? (during the past month) Not concerned 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very concerned

12.	How relaxed or tense have you been? (during the past month) Not concerned 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very concerned

13.	How much energy, pep, vitality have you felt? (during the past month) Not concerned 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very concerned

14.	How depressed or cheerful have you been? (during the past month) Not concerned 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very concerned

Self Esteem Scale
(The scale was made to measure adolescents’ global feelings of self-worth or self-acceptance)

1.	I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with others a.	strongly agree b.	agree c.	disagree d.	strongly disagree

2.	I feel that I have a number of good qualities. a.	strongly agree b.	agree c.	disagree d.	strongly disagree

3.	I am able to do things as well as most other people a.	strongly agree b.	agree c.	disagree d.	strongly disagree

4.	I take a positive attitude toward myself a.	strongly agree b.	agree c.	disagree d.	strongly disagree

5.	on the whole, I am satisfied with myself a.	strongly agree b.	agree c.	disagree d.	strongly disagree

6.	at times I think I am no good at all a.	strongly agree b.	agree c.	disagree d.	strongly disagree

Feelings of Inadequacy Scale
(The scale was developed to quantify a person’s feelings of inadequacy, in-feriority, self-consciousness, and social anxiety) On the scale from 1 (never) to 7 (always)

1.	How confident do you feel that someday the people you know will look up to you and respect you? 2.	How often do you dislike yourself? 3.	How much do you worry about how well you get along with other people? 4.	Do you ever feel afraid or anxious when you are going into a room by yourself where other people have already gathered and are talking? 5.	When in a group of people, do you have trouble thinking of the right thing to talk about? 6.	Do you often feel uncomfortable meeting new people? 7.	How often do you worry about whether other people like to be with you? 8.	When you think that some of the people you meet might have an un-favorable opinion of you, how concerned or worried do you feel about it? 9.	How often do you have trouble expressing your ideas when you try to put them into writing as an assignment? 10.	Have you ever felt ashamed of your physique or figure? 11.	Have you ever been concerned or worried about your ability to attract members of the opposite sex? 12.	The feeling you have when you are in the chat dose it feel the same as on the “real world”?

Interaction Anxiousness Scale
(The scale was disgned to provide a measure of the tendency to experience subjective social anxiety independently of accompanying behaviors)

Read each item carefully and decide the degree to which the statement is characteristic or true of you. Then place a number between “1” and “5” in the correct space according to the following scale. 1 = the statement is not at all characteristic of me. 2 = the statement is slightly characteristic of me. 3 = the statement is moderately characteristic of me. 4 = the statement is very characteristic of me. 5 = the statement is extremely characteristic of me.

1.	I often feel nervous even in casual get-together. 2.	I usually feel uncomfortable when I am in a group of people I don’t know. 3.	Parties often make me feel anxious and uncomfortable. 4.	I sometimes feel tense when talking to people of my own sex if I don’t know them well. 5.	I wish I had more confidence in social situations. 6.	I seldom feel anxious in social situations 7.	I often feel nervous when talking to an attractive member of the opposite sex.

Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) (Communication apprehension is “An individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or imagined communication with another person or persons”)

Directions: this instrument is composed of 24 statements concerning your feelings about communication with other people. Please indicate in the space provided the degree to which each statement applies to you by marking whether you (1) strongly agree (2) agree (3) are undecided (4) disagree (5) strongly disagree with each statement. There are no right or wrong answers. Many of the statements are similar to other statements. Do not be concerned about this. Work quickly, just record your first impression.

1.	I dislike participation in group discussions. 2.	I am tense and nervous while participating in group discussions. 3.	Engaging in a group discussion with new people makes me tense and nervous. 4.	I am calm and relaxed while participating in group discussions. 5.	Generally, I am nervous when I have to participating in a meeting. 6.	Usually I am calm and relaxed while participating in meetings. 7.	I am afraid to express myself at meetings. 8.	While participating in a conversation with new acquaintance, I feel very nervous. 9.	Ordinarily I am very tense and nervous in conversations.

Shyness Scale
(Discomfort and inhibition in the presence of others. Thus, the scale assesses both social anxiety and behavioral inhibition.)

Instructions: please read each item carefully and decide to what extent it is characteristic to your feelings and behavior. Fill in the blank next to each item by choosing a number from scale printed below.

1= very uncharacteristic or untrue, strongly disagree 2= uncharacteristic 3= neutral 4= characteristic 5= very characteristic or true, strongly agree

1.	I do not find it difficult to ask other people for information. 2.	I am often uncomfortable at parties and other social functions. 3.	It dose not take me long to overcome my shyness in new situations. 4.	It is hard for me to act natural when I am meeting with new people. 5.	I do not find it hard to talk to strangers

Differential Loneliness Scale
(The scale asks respondents to evaluate the quality and quantity of their interactions in four kinds of relationships: romantic-sexual relationships, friendships, relationships with family, and relationships with larger groups or community)

Instructions: for each statement, decide whether it describes you or your situation or not. If it dose seem to describe you or your situation, mark TRUE. If not, mark FALSE. If an item is not applicable to you because you are currently not involved in the situation it depicts (e.g. a current romantic or martial relationship), then score it false.

1.	I find it easy to express feelings of affection toward members of my family. 2.	I usually wait for a friend to call me up and invite me out before making plans to go anywhere. 3.	At this time I don’t have a romantic relationship that means a great deal to me. 4.	I don’t gel along very well with my family. 5.	Some of my friends will stand by me in almost any difficulty. 6.	People in my community aren’t really interested in what I think or feel. 7.	My trying to have friends and to be liked seldom succeeds the way I would like it to. 8.	I spend some time talking individually with each member of my family. 9.	I don’t have many friends in the city where I live. 10.	I am an important part of the emotional and physical well-being of my lover or spouse. 11.	I don’t feel that I can turn to my friends living around me for help when I need it. 12.	I don’t think that anyone in my family understands me. 13.	My relatives are generally too busy with their concerns to bother about my problems. 14.	Members of my family give me the kind of support that I need. 15.	A lot of my friendships ultimately turn out to be pretty disappointing. 16.	My romantic or marital partner gives me much support and encouragement. 17.	I am not very open with members of my family. 18.	People who say they are in love with me are usually only trying to rationalize using me for their own purposes. 19.	I have good relationship with most of my immediate family/ 20.	In my relationships, I am generally able to express both positive and negative feelings. 21.	I don’t get much satisfaction from the groups I attend. 22.	I get plenty of help and support from my friends. 23.	I seem to have little to say to members of my family. 24.	I have few friends with whom I can talk openly. 25.	I have an active love life. 26.	I have few friends that I can depend on to fulfill their end of mutual commitments. 27.	I have at least one real friend. 28.	I don’t have any neighbors who would help me out in time of need. 29.	Members of my family are relaxed and easy-going with each other. 30.	I have little contact with members of my family. 31.	My friends don’t seem to stay interested in me for long.

The measures are based on the book: Measues of personality and social psychological attitudes, Vol 1, edited by J.P.Robinson; P.R Shaver and L.S. Wrightsman, 1991, Academic press, San Diego, USA.