1. Why do this research? Over recent years there has been a proliferation of on-line self-help groups, yet there have been few studies looking at what these groups do and if they are effective. The main presumption is that these groups function as a source of social support, particularly when no other support is available. Research also suggests that people who have problems that are highly stigmatized will be more likely to use on-line self-help. There have also been questions raised around possible safety issues with unregulated, unprofessionally monitored self-help groups. This research will attempt to look at these issues within the context of a highly stigmatized issue: self-injury (the intentional harming of one’s own body). Research Questions: 1. Is self-injury a highly stigmatized problem? 2. Is on-line social support helpful and how is it linked to offline social support? 3. Are on-line self-help groups for self-injury perceived to be safe? Method: Participants: 58 users of two on-line self-help groups for self-injurers, who were either current, recovering or recovered self- injurers Procedure: Volunteers were asked to fill in an on-line questionnaire Results: Stigma:  95 % of participants reported hiding their behaviour  81% of participants reported hiding their scars  Participants described their opinion on self –injury as being significantly different from others (p<0.05) Social Support:  93% of participants gave better than neutral rating to on- line social support and 81% agreed the sites was an important source of social support  Participants had significantly lowers levels of off-line social support (mean= 41.82) when compared to a standardized sample (mean= 63.71), p<0.05.  There was a relation between on-line and off-line social support (p<0.05)  There was a relationship between SI status and social support, with those in recovery having more sources of social support (p<0.05)  55% of participants indicated they had sought offline help due to the sites Safety:  83% of participants gave a better than neutral rating of perceived safety on the sites  Feelings of safety were correlated with how long the person had been coming to the sites  45% of participants indicated they felt comfortable posting identifying information on the sites Conclusions & Further Research:  We found evidence for self-injury being a highly stigmatized problem and evidence for high usage of the sites.  Participants indicated a lower than average level of off-line social support and that they valued the sites as an important provider of social support, suggesting that there sites could be important sources of social support for those deprived of it else where.  Participants reported high levels of perceived safety on the sites.  Overall, these sites seem to be a highly valued resource to those struggling with a stigmatized problem and lacking in social support off-line.  Given the high usage reported amongst participants and that some participants report being addicted it would be good if future research addressed the issue of possible on- line self-help addiction Acknowledgments: I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Connie Varnhagen and all of the ITL lab for their invaluable help and encouragement. Claire Tyrwhitt-Drake, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta Hidden Communities: Finding Help For Self-Injury On-line