Information seeking as an act of relationship The association of relational variables with motives and frequency of surrogate health information seeking

Seeking online health information on behalf of others, i.e., surrogate seeking, has been determined to be quite common and can have a relevant influence on the health status of patients. Although demographic characteristics, health literacy, or social factors have all been discussed as possible determinants for this behavior based on secondary analysis, primary research about the motives of this behavior is largely missing in health communication. Using data from an online survey in the SoSci Panel (N = 589 participants, n = 381 surrogate seekers), we identified relationship closeness as a relevant factor associated with surrogate seeking. Motives for surrogate seeking differ according to the type of relationship and mostly represent alteri-oriented forms of social support, but also comprise ego-oriented motives. Our findings suggest that relational factors and motives of social support are relevant variables for explaining surrogate seeking and should thus be included in theories of information seeking behavior. Implications for addressing closely related persons in health communication and venues for further research are discussed.