自己開示研究の展望 (2) : 自己開示の集団差

Many reserches have been conducted on self-disclosure in relation to group differences and its situational determinants. In this paper, studies on differences in self-disclosure between groups of different gender, nationality, social class, birth order, and age are reviewed. Especially, the problems of gender differences in self-disclosure are discussed. Since Jourard & Lasakow reported that females were more self-disclosing than males, gender differences in self-disclosure have been the subject of numerous studies. Although many recent studies support Jourard\u27s original proposition, some studies have failed to find gender differences. It is suggested that content and depth of topics, intimacy level of target persons, sex typing process, and sex role orientation are the significant factors affecting the incongruous findings. With regard to the relationship between birth order and self-disclosure, it is emphasized that not only birth order but also psychological status in the family relations is an important determinant of self-disclosure patterns