Disclosing Mental Health Diagnosis to a Friend: An Application of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

• In Event: Interpersonally Communicating About Mental Health

Abstract

College-aged friends are likely to share important information with one another, including mental illness diagnoses. Although literature explores disclosure processes, much of it focuses on the discloser. This manuscript focuses on the inherently dyadic nature of disclosure processes by utilizing an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to predict interaction effectiveness in mental illness diagnosis disclosures. In doing so, we incorporate the unique perspectives of both the discloser and recipient, as well as possible interactions between the two. Participants were 51 college-student friend dyads (N= 102) from a Midwestern university in which one individual had disclosed their mental illness to a friend. We test a series of APIM analyses with closeness, dimensions of recipient response, and interaction effectiveness. Findings suggest that closeness positively predicts support and negatively predicts topic avoidance. Furthermore, supportive response promotes evaluations of increased interaction effectiveness while reports of topic avoidance are associated with decreased interaction effectiveness.

Authors

• Maria Koskan Venetis, Purdue University

• Patricia Gettings, Indiana U Southeast

• Skye Chernichky Karcher, Purdue U