Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

5-2023

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that perceived partner responsiveness is a parsimonious theoretical predictor of secret disclosure in romantic relationships, and to compare the efficacy of the perceived partner responsiveness model against the revelation risk model. Using an online questionnaire, 95 respondents in an ongoing committed romantic relationship reported on a secret they had been keeping, responded to measures of the revelation risk model predictors and of perceived partner responsiveness, and indicated whether or not they have revealed the secret to a relationship partner. The results show that the revelation risk model was a better overall predictive model of secret revelation, although perceived partner understanding was also a strong predictor of secret revelation. A modified revelation risk model is therefore proposed and discussed.

Comments

This manuscript was presented at the 2023 annual meeting of the International Communication Association, in Toronto, CA. Except for the first author, the order of authorship is alphabetical. The study was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a research methods course in the department of Communication Studies at the University of Montana taken by the four co-authors. The first author was the instructor of the course. The study was approved by the University of Montana IRB (#61-22). Correspondence regarding this manuscript can be sent to stephen.yoshimura@umontana.edu.

Rights

© 2023 The Authors

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