2000/04/01 by Catrin Finkenauer, Hana Hazam · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Attachment and Relationship Dynamics #Family Dynamics and Relationships #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
paper · doi:10.1177/0265407500172005
openalex publication_date 2000/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
This article proposes that not only disclosure but also secrecy should have a beneficial effect on satisfaction in close relationships. Disclosure and secrecy are determined by dispositional characteristics of relationship partners and by the unique relationship context in which they occur. Dispositional and contextual measures of disclosure and secrecy were included in a correlational study among married participants to answer the following questions: (1) do dispositional measures of disclosure and secrecy predict marital satisfaction? and (2) do contextual measures of disclosure and secrecy predict marital satisfaction? In addition, it examined to what extent dispositional measures of disclosure and secrecy predict communicative behavior between partners. Results showed that dispositional measures contributed only marginally to marital satisfaction, while contextual measures strongly contributed to marital satisfaction. Contextual disclosure and secrecy independently contributed to marital satisfaction. Dispositional measures failed to predict communicative behavior between partners. These findings suggest that both disclosure and secrecy are powerful mechanisms in marital relationships and that it is the process that occurs when partners interact with each other, rather than the characteristics of either or both, that affects marital satisfaction.