The Measurement of Privacy Preferences Within Marital Relationships: The Relationship Privacy Preference Scale

Abstract

This article proposes that the concept of privacy preference has relevance for marital therapy. Because of the specific nature and uniqueness of privacy in intimate relationships, despite the existence of several general measures of privacy preferences, there is a need for a scale that is centered on aspects of privacy preferences of particular relevance to married or cohabiting couples. The article describes the Relational Privacy Preferences Scale (RPPS), which assesses individuals' privacy preferences in regard to Solitude, Reserve with Partner, Possessiveness, and Neighbor Avoidance, using items of specific relevance to marriage and cohabitation. The results of a field study assessing the RPPS show the scale to be reliable and to possess a sound factor structure. Data from a married or cohabiting subsample of the field sample reveal negative associations between Reserve with Partner and Solitude with several aspects of relationship satisfaction.