Disclosure and Relationship Satisfaction in the Family

1
Disclosure and Relationship Satisfaction in the
Family

• Susan Branje, Catrin Finkenauer, Rutger Engels,
  Wim Meeus
• Department of Child and Adolescent Studies
• Utrecht University - The Netherlands

2
Introduction

• Research aim
• to investigate how disclosure should be
  conceptualized in the family context
• To investigate its link with relationship
  satisfaction

3
Introduction conceptualization of disclosure

• Intrapersonal disposition or contextual
• behavior that varies across specific
  relationship contexts
• Disclosure between 2 partners is a function of
• -both partners disposition to disclose
• -both partners disposition to elicit disclosure
  from others
• -the unique relationship between them
• -dyadic reciprocity (Dindia et al., 1997)
• Generizable to the family context?
• family relationships differ in roles or status
• horizontal and vertical relationships

4
Social Relations Model

• Differences in disclosure (or satisfaction) due
  to
• Actor effect
• tendency of the family member to disclose to all
  other members
• Target effect
• degree to which all family members disclose to
  one member
• Relationship effect
• Family member discloses to one specific partner,
  not to others
• Family effect
• extent to which all family members disclose to
  each other

5
Introduction link disclosure - satisfaction

• Linear relation between disclosure and indicators
  of relationship quality
• we disclose more to people we like
• we like people more after having disclosed to
  them
• we like people who disclose more (Collins
  Miller, 1994)
• When the recipient perceives the disclosure to be
  exclusively directed at her/him, relationship
  satisfaction will be higher
• Also in long-lasting family relationships?

6
Relational disclosure hypothesis
Relational attributions disclosure - satisfaction
Individual attributions disclosure -
satisfaction
7
Method
father
mother

• Family and Personality Project
• 285 Dutch families
• Fathers age 46, mothers 43.7
• Older adolescents 16.6, younger adolescents 14.4

child 1
child 2

• Round Robin Design
• Every family member rated the 3 other family
  members

8
Method

• Disclosure
• adapted version of Self-Disclosure Index (SDI,
  Miller, Berg, Archer, 1983)
• nine topics health, finances, positive things
  that happened during the day, disappointments and
  set-backs, other family members, future plans,
  friends, secrets, and fears and insecurities
• mean alpha .88
• Relationship satisfaction
• four adjectives very good, pleasant, valuable,
  difficult (cf. Campbell, Converse, Rodgers,
  1976)
• mean alpha .81

9
Results
10
Results
p lt .01
11
Results
p lt . 01
12
Results
p lt .01
13
Conclusion and Discussion Conceptualization of
Disclosure

• Disclosure in different types of family
• relationships is affected by intrapersonal
  dispositions, interpersonal processes, and group
  (family) processes
• Relationship effects more important than actor
  effects in horizontal relationships and for
  parent-to-child disclosure
• Dyadic reciprocity only in horizontal
  relationships
• equals, similar status
• intergenerational boundaries
• same-sex versus cross-sex relationships?

14
Conclusion and Discussion link disclosure -
satisfaction

• In long-lasting relationships disclosure remains
  important
• family members who disclose much are also more
  satisfied with their relationships
• On the individual level
• On the dyadic level in horizontal relationships
  and for adolescent-to-parent disclosure
• On the family level
• No strong relations between dispositional
  disclosure and satisfaction
• In horizontal relationships relationship-specific
  disclosure is related to satisfaction

15

• Thank you