Taking a Closer Look at Disclosure Recipients: How Disclosure Strategy and Emotion Influence Communicative and Relational Responses to Disclosures of Transgender Identity

Abstract

Guided by the theory of communication privacy management, this study examines recipients’ communicative and relational responses to disclosures of transgender identity. Participants (N = 207) completed an online survey and reported on a time they learned about a close other’s transgender identity. Results indicated that perceived disclosure strategy influenced recipients’ supportive communication, avoidance, aggression, and relational distancing. Recipients’ feelings of sympathy and anger moderated the effects of disclosure strategies on recipient responses. A general pattern emerged, suggesting the effects of disclosure strategies on recipient responses are amplified at low levels of sympathy and high levels of anger.