Leon Niebrzydowski
Adolescents’ Family Situation and
Their Self-disclosure in
Inter-personal Relationships
Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Psychologica 1, 111-123
F O LIA PSY C H O L O G IC A 1, 1997
L EO N N IE B R Z Y D O W SK I D epartm ent o f Psychology U niversity o f Lodz
ADOLESCENTS’ FAMILY SITUATION AND THEIR SELF-DISCLOSUREIN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
SUMMARY
The paper aims at determ ining the links between the adolescents’ family situation and their self-disclosure in m ate relationships. We have investigated 378 pupils between 16 to 18 years o f age and the same num ber o f parents o f b o th sexes. The adolescents are all pupils o f gram m ar school in Lodz, Poland. The parents are o f different professions: 80% belong to intellectual families and 20% to a working class. Three techniques have been used in this survey, the Jo u ra rd ’s Self-disclosure Questionnaire (1964), the Friendship Scale-LaGaipa (1981) and the Family Relationship Test by Anthony and Bene.
The obtained results allow us to deduce th at adolescents with favourable educational situation are less selective in the choice o f confidants and their discussions with m ates present m ore details on problem s they are interested in than those recruited from the group having unfavourable family relation ships. The investigations also show th at the links between adolescents’ self-disclosure and the family situation are miscellaneous. This depends on the character o f interpersonal relationships, so it seems th a t other factors also influence the adolescents’ self-disclosure in m ate contacts.
D uring the last quarter o f the century sociologists, educationists and psychologists payed m uch attention to family problem s. Their investigations often focused on parental attitudes, family structures, the family influence on children’s and adolescents’ socialization as well as on shaping the emotional relationships in the family.
The role o f self-disclosure is often taken into consideration when dealing with em otional relationships within the family. According to the a u th o r’s
investigations (see Niebrzydowski 1983, 1986) on friendship and self disclosure, it appears th at besides the educational atm osphere prevailing at hom e other factors have a big influence on adolescents’ self-disclosure as well, b u t they are n o t the subject o f this paper.
The aim o f our survey is to find and answer to the question concerning the links between the adolescents’ family situation and their self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships with their m ates. It has been assum ed that:
1. Adolescents with favourable family situation in which paren ts’ attitude toward children is positive and characterized by self-disclosure in their contacts with the family members or other close to them persons outside the family are less selective in choosing target persons to w hom they disclose problem s affecting them than the adolescents with unfavourable family situation in which parental attitude tow ard children is negative.
2. Adolescents b rought up in favourable family situation appear to be disclosing a larger num ber o f m atters to their m ates than those with unfavourable family situation.
3. Adolescents’ self-disclosure in m ate relationships varies according to the type o f interpersonal relationship:
a) the strongest link occurs between the family situation and the degree o f self-disclosure am ong acquaintances (newly-known persons),
b) the weakest link occurs between the family situation and the degree o f self-disclosure in the contacts with m ates called friends.
In the initial assum ptions, it has also been supposed th at the degree o f arents’ self-disclosure within and outside the family has a substantial influence on the adolescents’ self-disclosure in their contacts with m ates.
PR O C E D U R E
The survey encompassed 378 pupils between 16-18 years o f age and the same num ber o f parents. Three m ethods o f research have been used: Jo u ra rd ’s Self-disclosure Q uestionnaire (1964), Friendship Scale by L aG aipa (1981), and Fam ily Relationship Test by A nthony and Bene. The first two were considered elementary, the Self-disclosure Q uestionnaire was used to diagnose the m easures o f adolescents’ and p aren ts’ self-disclosure (broad mindedness, intensiveness and selectivity), the Friendship Scale to determine and differentiate interpersonal relationships (acquaintance, com radeship and friendship), and the Fam ily Relationship Test to investigate parents’ attitudes.
Considering the wide acquaintance with these techniques in the W estern E urope and USA, we do n o t need to describe them in details. In Polish literature, they have been raised m any times in the papers by the au tho r
o f this article (see Niebrzydowski 1983, 1986, 1984). The reliability o f the Polish adaptatio n o f the quoted techniques (Jourard 1984 and L aG aipa
1981) has been verified by Niebrzydowski and Plaszczynski (1989).
ANALYSIS OF THE OBTAINED RESULTS
The investigations contucted on the basis o f A nthony and Bene’s Test distinquish two groups o f adolescents. The first group com prises the adolescents with favourable family situation from the educational po int o f view, in which the relationships with the parents are positive or ambivalent. The parents o f these adolescents are characterized by norm al parental attitudes and self-disclosure within the family as well as in their contacts with m ates. To the second group belong the adolescents who highly estimate the m other and lowly the father, or highly or m oderately the m other and lowly the father. The family situation o f this group, according to the results obtained on the basis o f A nthony and Bene’s Test, is considered to be unfavourable. M oreover, the parents o f this adolescent group have a low degree o f self-disclosure. The d a ta obtained by m eans o f Jo u ra rd ’s SdQ show the degrees o f self-disclosure o f these adolescents tow ards their m ates, which are presented in Table 1.
T a b l e 1 A dolescents’ family situation and subjects’ degree o f self-disclosure
in contacts w ith m ates (in % ) Adolescents’ degree
o f self-disclosure in contacts w ith m ates
Subjects’ family situation positive negative
Low 5 43
M edium 52 57
H igh 43 0
The value Chi2 = 15,58 confirms th a t a statistically substantial difference exists between the degree o f self-disclosure o f the investigated adolescents in m ate contacts and their family situation. Besides, a division has been provided on the basis o f selectivity1 o f the target persons o f disclosure. The percentage o f the adolescents belonging to the group with favourable and unfavourable family situations concerning selectivity is presented in Table 2.
1 By „selectivity” we m ean w ith how m any partners o f the interaction a given person converses on topics she/he is interested in. If one or two, it is considered selective, three or four m oderately selective, and m ore than four low-selective.
T a b l e 2 A dolescents’ family situation and their choice o f the target persons (in % )
Subjects’ degree o f selectivity
N um ber o f subjects and their family situation positive negative
Low 67 4
M edium 24 48
H igh 9 48
The d ata contained in Table 2 indicate th at 67% o f the adolescents under survey with faourable family situation and only 4% o f those with unfavourable situation present a low degree o f selectivity in choosing the target persons o f their disclosure. This means th at favourable family situation favours low selectivity.
On the other hand, 48% o f the adolescents with unfavourable family situation present high or m edium degrees o f selectivity th at attests high anxiety am ong this group. The value Chi2 = 18,29 with d f = 1 and the degree o f probability 0,02 shows th a t there is a statistically substantial difference between the family situation and the choice o f target persons to w hom the adolescent discloses inform ation ab o u t him self or herself.
In order to define the relationship between the subjects’ parental situation and the profundity o f different bits o f inform ation disclosed to m ates, we proceed to the comparison of the degree o f self-disclosure between adolescents with favourable and unfavourable family situation concerning some general topical areas (attitudes, interests, studies) as well as questions related to m ore intim ate spheres (health, personality, financial aspects). The comparison according to the topical areas o f disclosure is included in Tables 3 and 4.
T a b l e 3 Subjects’ family situation and degrees o f self-disclosure concerning
low -intim ate categories Degrees o f self-disclosure tow ards
m ate concerning attitudes, interests, and studies
N um ber o f subjects and family situation (in absolute num bers)
positive negative
Low 9 45
M edium 153 135
T a b l e 4 Subjects’ family situation an degrees o f self-disclosure concerning
high-intim ate categories Degrees o f self-disclosure
tow ard m ates
N um ber o f subjects and family situation (in absolute num bers)
positive negative
Low 99 162
M edium 81 27
H igh 9 0
According to the d a ta contained in Table 3, m ore subjects presenting a low degree o f disclosure o f low intim ate topics are to be found am ong the group w ith u n favourable family situation th an am ong those w ith favourable family situation. However, the statistical analysis conducted with the help o f the test Chi2 = 3,82 with d f = 1 does n o t show a substantial difference between the degree o f self-disclosure o f the subjects in contacts with m ates and the family situation.
The d a ta related to high-intim ate topics (financial aspects, body, and personality) are presented in Table 4. It shows clearly th at positive family situation favours personal and intim ate disclosure while a negative one impedes it.
F rom the results contained in Tables 3 and 4 we can attest th at our assum ptions m ade above ab o u t the link existing between the family situation and the degree o f self-disclosure o f adolescent subjects in their contacts with m ates is partly confirm ed only. The difference between the two groups is n o t statistically certain. However, w hat is certain is th at the adolescents o f the first group (those with positive family situation) m ore often disclose in a frank and exhaustive way than those o f the second group (with negative family situation) whose disclosure is rather general and superficial.
The link between the family situation and adolescents’ self-disclosure in contacts with mates
Here we shall verify the assum ption th at the influence o f the family on shaping the adolescents’ self-disclosure is unequal and depends on the level o f interpersonal relationship development. It w ould be the lowest in the case o f friendship and the highest in contacts with newly introduced persons, i.e. when the partners o f the interaction are weakly acquainted. Friendship, which is a relationship based on v oluntary m u tu al acquaintance and understanding between the partners o f the interaction, needs reciprocal disclosure as one o f the conditions o f its existence. A t the same time, it
m ight be expected th at subjects with unfavourable family conditions will look for values they lack at hom e, for example, in friendship am ong m ates. Thus, they look for em otional links, frankness and security. On the other hand, com radeship, which is rather a widespread form o f interpersonal relationships am ongst adolescents, does n o t require full self-disclosure from the partners o f the interaction. A completely different form o f interaction are contacts with newly-known persons, still being a t the stage o f superficial acquaintance, in which neither full disclosure n o r reciprocity are expected. T h at is why an im p o rtant role in self-disclosure to newly-known persons is played by subjective factors like the way o f com m unication, the degree o f anxiety, and the feeling o f security.
T a b l e 5 Subjects’ family situation and their self-disclosure at different stages o f interpersonal
relationship developm ent
Stages o f interpersonal relationships
Subjects’ degree acquaintance com radeship friendship o f self-disclosure family situation family situation family situation
pos. neg. pos. neg. pos. neg.
Low 90 171 0 0 0 0 M edium 90 9 54 144 9 63 H igh 9 9 99 45 99 81 Very high 0 0 36 0 81 45 T otal 189 189 189 189 189 189 C orrelation Qyx 0,37 0,5 0,22
Low cor. coef M ed. cor. coef. Low cor. coef. Clear dependence Substantial Clear dependence
b u t weak dependence b u t weak
To verify the above assum ption we com pare the intensity o f adoles cents’ links within a family with the degree o f self-disclosure a t successive stages o f interpersonal relationship development. In the case o f acquintan- ce, friendship and com radeship, we have used Spearm an’s ranking cor relation Q. The results o f the adolescents’ disclosure o f low and high- intim ate topics are presented in Tables 5 and 6. The obtained correlation value confirms the hypothesis th a t the intensity o f interpersonal relations hips within the family determines considerably self-disclosure at different stages o f p artn ers’ acquaintance. The dependence o f self-disclosure degree on family situation is the highest in com radeship and the lowest in acquaintance.
T a b l e 6 Subjects’ family situation and the degrees o f self-disclosure at different stages of interpersonal
relationship developm ent in highly intim ate categories (num bers and value Q) Stages o f interpersonal relationships
Subjects’ degree acquaintance com radeship friendship o f self-disclosure family situation family situation family situation
pos. neg. pos. neg. pos. neg. Low 171 189 81 162 0 81 M edium 18 0 81 27 108 57 H igh 0 0 27 0 36 27 Very high 0 0 0 0 45 27 T otal 189 189 189 189 189 189 C orrelation Qyx 0,22 0,57 0,32 Low cor. coef M ed. cor. coef. Low cor. coef. Clear dependence Substantial Clear dependence
b u t weak dependence b u t weak
The degree of parents’ self-disclosure and adolescents’ self-disclosure in their contacts with mates
Assuming th at parents constitute for the child a m odel o f behaviour in different social situations and th a t the influence o f this m odel is m ore or less effective, we can expect a similarity between p aren ts’ and children’s behaviours. On the basis o f this reasoning, it is assum ed th at the degree o f paren ts’ self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships plays an essential role in shaping the child’s self-disclosure in his/her contacts with m ates. To verify this assum ption two groups o f adolescents have been distinguished. In the first group there are those whose parents highly or m oderately disclose inform ation ab o u t themselves to their friends, close or not, and to new acquaintances. The second group includes subjects whose parents have a m edium or low degree o f self-disclosure.
To do this, we considered sufficient th at one o f the parents has a high or a low degree o f self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships. Then we com pared the degree o f p aren ts’ self-disclosure with the children’s one. This com parison has been conducted by m eans o f Jo u ra rd ’s SdQ, previously used to investigate both parents’ and adolescents’ self-disclosure. The obtained results are presented in Table 7.
T a b l e 7 Extra-fam ilial p aren ts’ self-disclosure and subjects’ self-disclosure in contacts with
m ates (in absolute num bers) Subjects’ degree o f self-disclosure
in contacts with m ates
P arents’ degree o f self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships high (group I) low (group II)
Low 0 90
M edium 108 99
H igh 45 36
T otal 153 225
F ro m T able 7 we deduce th a t the subjects w ith a low degree o f self-disclosure in contacts with m ates have the parents with a low degree o f self-disclosure. In the first group o f adolescents, with parents having high or m edium degrees o f self-disclosure, the num ber o f adolescents with a high degree o f self-disclosure is larger in com parison with the other group. It means th at a close dependence exists between the degree o f parents’ and children’s self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships.
The value Chi2, when d f = 1, reaches 8,95, w hat a t 0,05 degree o f probability attests the statistical dependence. So the above posed hypothesis seems to be confirmed.
N ow we p u t forw ard the following question: which o f the investigated factors th at generate p arents’ self-disclosure in interpersonal relationship with adults-em otional links within the family or the degree o f m utual self-disclosure between parents and children - has m ore influence on shaping adolescents’ self-disclosure in their contacts with mates? To answer this question we have calculated the correlation between the m entioned factors and the degree o f self-disclosure o f the parents. The results are presented in Table 8.
T a b l e 8 Factors shaping adolescents’ self-disclosure in contacts w ith m ates (com parison
o f intensity and influence on the basis o f correlation coefficients Q) C orrelation between the degree o f self-disclosure o f the investigated
adolescents in contacts w ith m ates and: p aren ts’ self-disclosure
in interpersonal relation ships w ith adults
em otional links in the family
m utual self-disclosure of adolescents and parents Qxy = 0,39 Qxy = 0,60 Qxy = 0,50
The obtained value Qxy attests th at em otional links within the family play the greatest role in shaping adolescents’ self-disclosure in contacts with m ates (0,60), then comes the frank and open way o f com m unication o f the subjects with their parents (0,50), and finally the degree o f p a re n t’ self-disclosure in extra-family interpersonal relationships (0,39).
It seems th a t the optim al condition for shaping a high degree o f self- -disclosure am ong adolescents is th at in which positive em otional links in the family are accom panied by a high self-disclosure o f parents in extra- -family relationships, whereas the less advantageous is th at in which there are no em otional links between the family members. The rem aining factors have registered a lower ranking.
These d a ta illustrate adolescents’ self-disclosure against a background o f family situation. According to these d ata adolescents have high or m edium degrees o f self-disclosure alm ost always when being brought up in families with a positive situation. In the case o f negative family situation, irrespective o f the paren ts’ self-disclosure in extra-family relationships, the degree o f adolescents’ self-disclosure in contacts with m ates in n o t high b u t at m ost medium. In the case o f negative family situation and the presence o f a low degree o f p aren ts’ self-disclosure, 64% o f the subjects under survey present a low degree o f self-disclosure.
Besides, in the case o f a high degree o f p aren ts’ self-disclosure and a negative family situation, there is a lack o f b oth high and low degrees o f self-disclosure am ong adolescents. This perhaps attests an obvious adolescents’ criticism and their self-dependent way o f thinking since circum spection and criticism become necessary when one cannot rely on his parents. It agrees with the opinion o f D erlega and Chaikin (1979) who state th at everybody controls the scope o f inform ation abo ut him self which he is willing to disclose to the partners o f the interaction. This process of controlling selectively the limits o f one’s „ego” , i.e. to which extent we disclose ourselves, is called by then intimacy.
The d ata presented in Table 9 confirm our initial assum ptions arguing th at parents play an essential role in shaping adolescents’ self-disclosure in their contacts with m ates. However, they can achieve it only if they are accepted by adolescents, which m eans th at positive em otional links exist between them. This is anoth er im portant educational function o f parents besides ensuring their children the feeling o f self-confidence and security.
E m otional links between parents and children favour the identification and interiorization o f the norm s and standards transm itted all along the educational process. This conform ity helps to understand why adolescents with a high degree o f self-disclosure belong mainly to those having a positive family situation. In the group with negative family situation, despite a high
T a b l e 9 The influence o f p aren ts’ self-disclosure on adolescents in contacts w ith m ates
The degree o f adolescents’ self-disclosure
Fam ily situation
positive negative the degree o f p aren ts’
self-disclosure in extra- -family relationships
the degree of p aren ts’ self-disclosure in extra- -family relationships high (group I) low (group II) high (group I) low (group II) Low 0 9 0 64 M edium 50 55 100 36 H igh 50 36 0 0 T otal 100 100 100 100
degree o f the paren ts’ self-disclosure, none o f the subjects shows a high degree o f self-disclosure. Thus, it turns out th a t paren ts’ frankness tow ards children is m ore decisive in shaping adolescents’ self-disclosure in the contacts with m ates than their self-disclosure in extra-family relationships. This dependence seems to be justified by the fact th a t a larger effect is provided by everyday life than by a m odel presented occasionally and n o t always within the reach o f children’s observation.
It has also been proved th at the m o th er’s and fath er’s positive examples play a significant role in shaping self-disclosed attitude o f adolescents tow ard their mates. The intensity o f relation between the degree of m utual disclosure am ong a paren t and a child (adolescent) and the degree o f the adolescent’s self-disclosure in contacts with m ates resembles th at with the m other as well as with the father (see Table 9) and even higher when the father is concerned.
These results confirm a family m odel prom oted now adays in which b oth parents have the same educational functions and emphasize an im portant role o f the father in the educational process.
FINDINDGS
F irst o f all, it is w orth while recalling th at the obtained results confirm m ost o f the initial assum ptions, i.e. th a t the family situation affects considerably adolescents’ self-disclosure in their contacts with m ates. It has also been proved th at adolescents living in favourable educational conditions are less selective in choosing the target persons o f their disclosure and tend
m ore to disclose intim ate inform ation than those living in unfavourable family conditions. However, in the case o f disclosing general topics (less intim ate) such as attitudes, hobbies, studies, they do n o t differ from those with other family conditions. The situation changes in reference to the intim ate topical areas (personality, health, and financial problem s), which m eans th at the parental influence is significant when the disclosure o f inform ation o f m ore personal and intim ate character is concerned. The present survey confirms to a certain degree the results obtained by other psychologists (Skarżyńska 1979, D erlega and Chaikin 1976).
Thus, we can attem pt to draw up a kind o f family m odel prom oting the shaping o f high self-disclosure o f adolescents in their contacts with m ates. The m ost im p ortan t element o f this m odel w ould undoubtedly be the em otional links within the family, then w ould come the degree o f reciprocal disclosure between parents and adolescents and, finally, the parents’ self-disclosure in extra-family relationships. All these elements form w hat we can call positive or favourable family situation.
As the presented results show, the m ain factors determ ining adolescents’ self-disclosure in their contacts with m ates are the atm osphere o f m utual friendliness am ong the family members and their frank and direct com m unication. We also deduce th a t these two factors favour the adolescents’ acceptation o f the models presented by parents and the interiorization o f the family norm s. Besides, it seems th at the influence o f family situation on shaping adolescents’ self-disclosure varies according to the stages o f interpersonal relationship developm ent. It is strongest in the case o f com radeship and a bit weaker in friendly contacts and in those with newly-known persons (superficial acquaintance). The family situation then is n o t the only factor acting on adolescents’ self-disclosure b u t an im portant role falls also upon the degree o f interpersonal intimacy between the partners o f interaction.
Derlega and Stępień (1977) say th a t „in western culture people are expected n o t to disclose inform ation about themselves to unknow n people” . This perhaps explains the low degree o f self-disclosure tow ards newly- known persons independently o f the family situation. It is n o t surprising th at adolescents are loath to disclose themselves to strangers. The same situation takes also place am ong friends. Friends disclose inform ation to each other independently o f their family situation, b u t the reason is leant on completely different bases than in the case o f new acquaintances.
One o f the conditions o f friendship is the p a rtn e rs’ good m u tual acquaintance, while comradeship is such a stage o f interpersonal relationships in which social rules give an individual a large option in choosing the target persons o f disclosure. Discussions on general and personal problem s
are admissible, b u t no one can feel resentm ent against his partn er if he is unwilling to discuss intim ate subjects. Such a situation does n o t threaten the duration o f the interaction, while a completely different situation prevails in regard to friendship. A friend, willing or not, has to share with his p artner the m ost intim ate problem s. T h a t is why in the case o f comradeship, m ore significant are other factors o f disclosure than the family. These issues have been discussed m ore throughly in another survey by Niebrzydowski (see Niebrzydowski 1983).
Finally, we w ould like to note th at we are fully aware o f the fact th at the presented results do n o t constitute an exhaustive answer to the question concerning the relation between the adolescents’ family situation and their self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships. However, having in m ind the scarcity o f such studies in Poland, we can consider them useful. The m ore so, as it has been noted earlier (Niebrzydowski 1983), the parents-adolescents’ degree o f self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships is extremely low for the overwhelming m ajority which, o f course, does n o t influence positively the effectiveness o f the parental educational ac tivities.
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with M ates, Lodz, M aster’s thesis supervised by N iebrzydow ski at the D epartm ent of
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relationships, W arsaw, PW N .
Leon Niebrzydowski
SYTUACJA RODZINNA MŁODZIEŻY DORASTAJĄCEJ A JEJ OTWARTOŚĆ W KONTAKTACH INTERPERSONALNYCH
Przedm iotem niniejszego artykułu jest związek zachodzący między sytuacją rodzinną dorastającej młodzieży a jej otw artością w stosun k ach interpersonalnych z rówieśnikami. Przebadano 378 uczniów w wieku 16-18 roku życia; 80% badanych rekrutow ało się z rodzin inteligenckich, a pozostałe 20% z robotniczych.
Z astosow ano 3 techniki badawcze: 1) kw estionariusz otw artości S. Jourarda, 2) skalę przyjaźni J. L aG aipa,
3) test związków rodzinnych A nthony i Bene.
B adania nie w ykazały istotnego związku zachodzącego między sytuacją rodzinną badanych a jej otw artością w stosun k ach interpersonalnych.
Z tego wynika, że inne czynniki decydują o otw artości badanej młodzieży niż jej sytuacja rodzinna.
