Abstract
This paper focuses on social dynamics among disclosure communities in terms of balancing disclosure and privacy. Why does a man tell his mother but not his father when facing a medical crisis? This is an example of the core question in this study. To better understand these situations, we need to identify the disclosure activities that take place within the patient and their disclosure community when dealing with illness, and explore the different ways patients balance the need to disclose and the need to be private. The outcome of this study is the development of a conceptual framework (in the form of conceptual map) that describes the social dynamic of health disclosure for chronically ill patients. Concepts like balancing act, which is being closed (private) and at the same time being open (disclosure), timing of disclosure, and role of disclosure emerged as three patterns that emerge during the disclosure process.
Highlights
Most of the earlier works on self-disclosure were in the form of reviews and lacked a theoretical framework (Berg & Derlega, 1987, page 2)
A person who knows that he will need a great deal of time off for chemotherapy will disclose his medical state to his manager and immediate subordinate so someone can take over his responsibilities at work
The results of this study describe the social dynamics of the disclosure communities and provide understanding of how patients decide whether or not to tell their health information to others
Summary
Most of the earlier works on self-disclosure were in the form of reviews and lacked a theoretical framework (Berg & Derlega, 1987, page 2). Derlega and Chaikin (1974, 1977) proposed two factors that mediate between self-disclosure and health conditions: the nature of the relationship, and situational context. In a later compilation of self-disclosure work, Rosenfeld (2000) suggested four factors that influence a disclosure decision: nature of relationship, risk-to-benefit ratio, situational context and reciprocity. The research that views self-disclosure as a personality trait assumes that self-disclosure is an individual choice Under this assumption, people constantly reassess the risk-to-benefit ratio before making a disclosure. In the context of health communication, benefits of self-disclosure are catharsis, receipt of feedback from others, and help with problem solving (Cozby, 1973; Northouse & Northouse, 1998) It can improve patient care: Petronio and her colleagues (2004) found that family members who accompanied patients during medical interviews disclosed patients’ personal information in order to clarify, correct or refute the physician’s statements. For an example, when the victim of sexual assault discloses the identity of the culprit, it reduces the uncertainty for her family and friends
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