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Adolescent Self-Disclosure
Running Head: ADOLESCENT SELF-DISCLOSURE
Self-Disclosure's Role in Adolescent Friendship:
An Exploration of Gender Differences and Methodological Issues
Allison L. Snider
Distinguished Majors Thesis
University of Virginia
May, 2001
Advisor: Joseph P. Allen
Second Reader: Nancy S. Weinfield
Abstract
This study employs multiple methods to investigate both the influence of self-disclosure on adolescent friendship quality and potential gender differences in the behavior. Analyses were based on self-report and observational measures of 148 adolescents (mean age= 13.37; 54.7% female) and their same-sex close friends (mean age= 13.48). Results revealed that females reported engaging in higher levels of self-disclosure with friends. However, during the disclosure-eliciting interaction task, male and female adolescents demonstrated similar capabilities to disclose. Taken together, these findings suggest that reported gender differences in self-disclosure are related to disparities in the individual preferences for disclosure of males and females, rather than in their actual abilities to disclose. Furthermore, findings revealed that self-disclosure might be particularly important to the friendships of adolescents in psychological distress (e.g., depressed adolescents).
Introduction
To disclose literally means to show, reveal, or make known; thus, self-disclosure refers to the process of making aspects of oneself apparent to others. The concept of self-disclosure was born from the existential and phenomenological philosophies of individuals such as Sartre, Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty (Chelune, 1979). However, in today’s psychological parlance self-disclosure has taken on a more narrow definition than was embraced by these philosophers. Self-disclosure, in the context of social research, refers specifically to the sharing of one’s personal thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs (Leaper, Carson, Baker, Holliday, & Myers, 1995). This behavioral process is of particular interest to scientists because research over the past three decades has revealed that increased self-disclosure may result in significant psychological benefits.
Jourard (1971) hypothesized that self-disclosure serves not only as an indicator of a healthy personality, but also as a means by which one may be achieved. In fact, researchers have determined self-disclosure to be a significant predictor of both socioemotional adjustment and relationship satisfaction for adolescents and adults (Rotenburg & Whitney, 1992). Moreover, the conveying of personal thoughts and feelings to others has been shown to foster self-exploration and open communication (Prager, Fuller, & Gonzalez, 1989; Sullivan, 1953). Self-disclosure has also been identified as a central activity in the development of intimate relationships (Altman & Taylor, 1973).
One of the first researchers to recognize and emphasize the importance of intimacy in friendship was H.S. Sullivan. Sullivan (1953) believed that mutual empathy, love, and felt security combine to form closeness, which often serves as an impetus for self-disclosure. During early adolescence, the need for close friendship is particularly keen as individuals become more interested in forming intimate connections outside of their families (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Shulman, Laursen, Kalman, & Karpovsky, 1997). Adolescents often do not want to appear foolish, childish, or inferior in the presence of their parents, from whom they seek approval. Therefore, peers are much more likely to be sought out by adolescents wishing to share their thoughts and feelings (Youniss & Smollar, 1985). Accordingly, intimate friendships are thought to first appear during these adolescent years when biological, cognitive, and social changes create a critical period for their formation (Camarena, Sarigiani, & Petersen, 1990). Indeed, developmental researchers have revealed that characteristics of intimate friendship such as self-disclosure, closeness, and mutual assistance take on a position of increased significance during adolescence (Sharabany, Gershoni, & Hofman, 1981).
Although intimacy-supporting behaviors such as imitation and playful exchange are present in childhood, it is not until early adolescence that a child may begin to exercise the ability to share personal views and perspectives through conversation and disclosure (McNelles & Connolly, 1999). Often the social and cognitive restraints present during childhood cause children to rely upon conceptions of right and wrong that are dictated by adults. During adolescence, cognitive abilities develop and social experiences broaden for these children and they are able to begin developing their own standards of morality and conduct (Kohlberg & Gilligan, 1972). During interactions with peers, the mutual exchange of perspective plays a substantial role in the formation of these autonomous values and ideas for adolescents (Kohlberg, 1969; Piaget, 1932). Thus, the friendships of adolescence are distinguishable from those of childhood by the depth of their mutuality and sharing (Savin-Williams & Berndt, 1990).
Adolescents in the United States experience frequent opportunities to interact with one another with relatively little interference from adults. U.S. adolescents spend an average of 20 non-classroom hours with peers, which is more time than most spend with their families or alone (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984). Thus, conditions are often ideal for the development of rather intense friendships with peers (Douvan & Adelson, 1966). The importance of these intimate peer relations during adolescence is highlighted by the tendency of adolescents to increase disclosure to their peers while concurrently decreasing disclosure to their parents. This represents a significant change from the disclosure patterns of childhood, where parents serve as primary confidants for their children (Dolgin & Kim, 1994).
According to Savin-Williams and Berndt (1990), close friendship is essential during adolescence so that emotional and social needs may be met and problems may be solved. Self-disclosure has been described as an efficient way of receiving needed emotional aid because as individuals describe their distress, they provide listeners with cues that indicate a need for help as well as hints about the type of help that might be most effective (Coates & Winston, 1987). When seeking assistance, individuals are more likely to approach friends and family than professionals because of their proximity. Furthermore, aid elicited from friends and family is less costly in terms of time, money, and effort. Thus, the social networks of adolescents are valuable because they provide a source of emotional support that is relatively easy to access (Willis & DePaulo, 1991).
A study by Burchill and Stiles (1988) examined the effects of interactions between individuals in psychological distress, specifically depressed undergraduates and their roommates. At the start of the experiment, depressed roommate pairs reported significantly worse moods than control pairs. Over the course of a structured conversation in the lab, the moods of the depressed individuals and their roommates showed significant improvement while the moods of control pairs did not change significantly. Because the conversation task was designed to elicit self-disclosure, the results of this study seem to indicate that self-disclosure may be a beneficial activity for depressed individuals to engage in with their friends. Further research is needed to help clarify the dynamics of such interactions between adolescents, however, because most research has utilized undergraduate populations.
Considerable research has been conducted on the disclosure processes of adults in order to discover how individual differences might influence the formation and maintenance of their intimate relationships. In contrast, relatively little is known about the disclosure processes of adolescents and the studies that have been conducted parallel the adult research (Rotenburg, 1995). Even though there is increasing interest in the area, more research is needed so that the processes specific to adolescent intimacy in healthy friendships may be understood. Only then will scientists be aptly equipped to remedy relationships in which intimacy fails to develop for these youth (McNelles & Connolly, 1999).
One particular area of investigation that has received considerable attention for both age groups is the presence of gender differences in self-disclosure. The vast majority of studies examining these differences have revealed that females disclose significantly more than their male counterparts (Collins & Miller, 1994; Dolgin & Kim, 1994; Reisman, 1990). Therefore, girls’ friendships have typically been considered to be more intimate than boys’ since traditional definitions of emotional closeness have relied upon self-disclosure as their measuring stick (McNelles & Connolly, 1999). This may not be an entirely accurate assumption, however, because some recent studies have failed to discover any overall gender differences in self-disclosure (Collins & Miller, 1994; Dolgin & Kim, 1994).
One possible explanation for the tendency of both adolescent and adult females to report more self-disclosure is the presence of gendered social norms in childhood that may persist throughout the lifespan (Leaper, 1994). The childhood peer groups of females have been described as being much smaller than those of males. Whereas female children tend to place importance upon social sensitivity and equality in groups of two to three, male children typically engage in large-group competitive activities. In following, society simply seems to perceive intimate self-disclosure as more appropriate for females than males, regardless of age. For example, Kleinke and Kahn (1980) found that adult men who disclose highly intimate information to new acquaintances were more likely to be judged by outsiders as maladjusted. When surveyed, adolescents themselves also perceive it to be more commonplace for females to be more disclosing of their feelings and problems than males (Reisman, 1990). These social expectations relating to gender appropriate behaviors may greatly influence both the actions of adolescents in their friendships as well as researchers’ understanding of adolescent intimacy. Thus, apparent gender differences in emotional closeness could be caused by female-biased definitions of intimacy coupled with a failure of scientists to consider alternative behavioral pathways to close friendship.
Camarena, Sarigiani, & Petersen (1990) conducted a study in which they conceptualized intimacy as the end state of emotional closeness, separate from behavioral paths that may facilitate that closeness. These researchers created a questionnaire to administer to eighth-grade students that included questions regarding this notion of emotional closeness as well as the behavioral paths of self-disclosure and shared experiences. This study revealed that gender differences in intimacy could either be increased or decreased, depending upon which operational definition of intimacy was used. Specifically, when these researchers ran analyses using a definition of intimacy based on the feeling of emotional closeness, gender discrepancies were smaller than when the behavioral definitions were employed. These findings support the suggestion of McNelles & Connolly (1999) that although males and females might prefer to embark on different behavioral routes to intimacy, the closeness felt in peer relationships may not differ according to gender.
Past research on adolescent friendship has produced several possible explanations for the apparent gender discrepancies in self-disclosure. One suggestion is that the large group peer environments many males experience during childhood may not adequately prepare them for later demands of intimate friendship (Leaper, 1994). This conclusion seems to suggest that males are somehow lacking in the competence and ability needed to establish and maintain friendships that are as close as those of females. It is possible, however, that males may simply choose to achieve intimacy through an alternative path such as shared activities (Camarena, Sarigiani, & Petersen, 1990; Sharabany, Gershoni, & Hofman, 1981). It is important to emphasize that preferences for one particular behavioral path do not preclude the use of others (McNelles & Connolly, 1999). Data show that males do use self-disclosure to develop close friendships, but that finding is often overshadowed by the tendency of females to report disclosing at significantly higher levels (Camarena, Sarigiani, & Petersen, 1990).
When attempting to interpret and apply the results of past research in the area of self-disclosure, one must consider that the vast majority of studies examining gender differences have used self-report measures (Dindia & Allen, 1992). In a review of recent studies on adolescent self-disclosure patterns, Buhrmester & Prager (1995) found that 43 of the 50 explorations they examined utilized retrospective self-report ratings. This finding is distressing considering the lack of empirical attention given to the effects of self-report bias on these reports of disclosure. The self-report method of data collection is limited because while these measures may gauge participants’ perceptions of their self-disclosures, they may not accurately assess their actual behaviors (Leaper, Carson, Baker, Holliday, & Meyers, 1995). It is likely that people will rely more heavily upon gender stereotypes when filling out a questionnaire than they would in an actual conversation. Indeed, during interactions, conversational topics may have more of an influence on behavior than gender roles. Thus, it may not be appropriate to solely use self-report data to make accurate inferences about what adolescents are actually doing in their everyday conversations (Andersen & Leaper, 1998).
Some authors have indeed suggested that the robust gender differences present in the self-disclosure literature may be due in part to a greater willingness of females to report their disclosing behaviors (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995). Along these lines, in a meta-analytic review of various self-disclosure studies, Collins & Miller (1994) proposed that apparent gender differences in self-disclosure might be caused by the disproportionate number of correlational studies employing self-report measures present in the research body. When these researchers divided the studies they were examining into experimental and correlational groups, they found that while there were large overall gender differences in self-disclosure for the correlational group, there were no apparent differences for the experimental group. Thus, it is possible that conclusions drawn from the self-report dominated body of self-disclosure research may be largely limited to adolescents’ perceptions of their self-disclosure (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995).
It is essential that these types of interactions are examined, however, so that the patterns of self-disclosure observed in actual conversations between friends may be systematically compared to those described by self-reports (Berndt & Hanna, 1995). Unfortunately, few studies have used observations of actual conversations among adolescents and their peers because of the logistical difficulties involved in arranging these interaction tasks. In addition, the coding of these conversations for self-disclosure is both difficult and time consuming.
Currently, studies that have utilized observational data from conversations between peers suggest that when men are placed in a situation that calls for self-disclosure, they will disclose at levels similar to women (Leaper, 1994; Oldenburg, 1998). This finding supports the notion that gender variations in self-disclosure may be the result of differences in individual preferences or reporting biases rather than in innate or predisposed abilities. Men appear to be able and willing to disclose when situational cues call for such behavior. Miller & Read (1987) have further predicted that the occurrence of self-disclosure may be more dependent on individuals' goals for interacting with another person than on their actual personality traits and tendencies. Therefore, when people find themselves in situations where self-disclosure is seen as a means to a goal, they might tend to disclose more than they would in other contexts. These suggestions seem to run counter to the claims made in the self-report literature which propose that males might simply lack the social preparation or innate ability to disclose at the same level as females. The discrepancy in findings also underscores the need for further research on the self-disclosure processes of adolescents, especially in the realm of gender differences and situational influences.