Disclosure is a Spectrum: How Much Children Tell their Parents About the Secrets they Hold

• In Event: 2266 - Family Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 16. LGBTQ Families and Polyamory

Abstract

Research on social ties and the sharing of sensitive information (or secrets) predict that individuals are likely to confide this information in both strong (e.g. family) and weak (e.g. co-workers) social ties. With previous findings offering inconclusive and highly contextualized patterns of disclosure, we suggest that developing understanding of the process of and motivations for disclosure may offer a stepping-stone to clarity. To this end, we conducted in-depth interviews with 78 LGBTQ individuals asking about the information they keep from their parents and the dynamics of the parent-child relationship. Presented here are preliminary findings (and background) of this research. Cursory findings reveal that information sharing does not have a dichotomous outcome, but rather is a spectrum that includes partial disclosure of information. Additionally, we find that previously accepted characteristics of the social tie, such as homophily and anticipated empathy, are not enough to account for disclosure. We find that respect in the tie should be counted among the chief precursors to disclosure. Finally, we find an overwhelming desire for full-disclosure in the parent-child tie and that the decision to withhold information is informed by a desire to protect the parent-child relationship.

Authors

• Lauren Gebhardt-Kram, The Ohio State University

• Corinne Reczek, Ohio State University