Social contagion theory suggests that people are influenced by their peer network, particularly if exposed to something from many peers. The researcher of this study applied this theory to examine the influence of self-help forums on people trying to quit gambling. The researcher extracted data from Japanese online self-help forums for quitting gambling. They found several factors that influenced users’ likelihood of achieving abstinence during the three years after joining the forums. First, having more peers in the first three months of using the forum predicted abstinence. Second, having a close relationship with a few senior abstinent peers after the first three months also helped people to stop gambling. Third, receiving rejective comments from peers was not helpful for users trying to quit.
