| Abstract: | A self-disclosure questionnaire was administered to 45 male and 45 female 7th–8th graders under 1 of 3 conditions: confidentiality explicitly assured, no instructions regarding confidentiality, and confidentiality explicitly not assured. A self-disclosure score was derived by summing the number of "true" responses to a 74-item questionnaire. Results do not support the hypothesis that Ss would more frequently disclose personal and possibly stigmatizing information when confidentiality was assured. Across conditions, males disclosed significantly more frequently than females, suggesting that females were more cautious and had a higher level of self-protective needs. Responses to a posttest questionnaire revealed significant overreporting of confidentiality instructions among males and females. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
