Disclosure Decisions Research Articles

Development and Usability Testing of a Web-Based Workplace Disability Disclosure Decision Aid Tool for Autistic Youth and Young Adults: Qualitative Co-design Study.

Deciding whether and how to disclose one's autism at work is complex, especially for autistic youth and young adults who are newly entering the labor market and still learning important decision-making and self-determination skills. Autistic youth and young adults may benefit from tools to support disclosure processes at work; however, to our knowledge, no evidence-based, theoretically grounded tool exists specifically for this population. There is also limited guidance on how to pursue the development of such a tool in collaboration with knowledge users. This study aimed to co-design a prototype of a disclosure decision aid tool with and for Canadian autistic youth and young adults, explore the perceived usability of the prototype (usefulness, satisfaction, and ease of use) and make necessary revisions, and outline the process used to achieve the aforementioned objectives. Taking a patient-oriented research approach, we engaged 4 autistic youths and young adults as collaborators on this project. Prototype development was guided by co-design principles and strategies, and tool content was informed by a previous needs assessment led by our team, the autistic collaborators' lived experiences, considering intersectionality, research on knowledge translation (KT) tool development, and recommendations from the International Patient Decision Aid Standards. We co-designed a web-based PDF prototype. To assess perceived usability and experiences with the prototype, we conducted 4 participatory design and focus group Zoom (Zoom Video Communications) sessions with 19 Canadian autistic youths and young adults aged 16 to 29 (mean 22.8, SD 4.1) years. We analyzed the data using a combined conventional (inductive) and modified framework method (deductive) analysis to map the data onto usability indicators (usefulness, satisfaction, and ease of use). Grounded in participants' feedback, considering factors of feasibility and availability of resources, and ensuring tool fidelity, we revised the prototype. We developed 4 categories pertaining to the perceived usability of and participant experiences with the prototype: past disclosure experiences, prototype information and activities, prototype design and structure, and overall usability. Participant feedback was favorable and indicative of the tool's potential impact and usability. The usability indicator requiring the most attention was ease of use, which was prioritized when revising the prototype. Our findings highlight the importance of engaging knowledge users throughout the entire prototype co-design and testing processes; incorporating co-design strategies and principles; and having content informed by relevant theories, evidence, and knowledge users' experiences. We outline an innovative co-design process that other researchers, clinicians, and KT practitioners may consider when developing KT tools. We also developed a novel, evidence-based, and theoretically informed web-based disclosure decision aid tool that may help autistic youth and young adults navigate disclosure processes and improve their transitional outcomes as they enter the workforce.

“Being human”: A grounded theory approach to exploring how trainers on clinical psychology doctorate programmes decide whether or not to disclose personal experiences of psychological distress to clinical psychology doctorate trainees

AbstractObjectiveRecent research and guidelines recommend that trainers on clinical psychology doctorate training programmes consider disclosing personal experiences of psychological distress to trainees. Disclosure is thought to promote cultures of openness, validate and normalise trainee distress, encourage trainee disclosure and help‐seeking and challenge stigmatising narratives. However, little is known about how trainers decide whether, what or how to disclose. This study aims to address that gap by exploring the processes and factors involved in trainers deciding whether or not to disclose personal experiences of psychological distress to trainees, generating findings of relevance across counselling, psychotherapy and psychology training courses.MethodsIn‐depth interviews were conducted with nine trainers on UK clinical psychology doctorate programmes from around the country and analysed in accordance with constructivist grounded theory methods.ResultsFindings indicated that participants valued disclosure personally and professionally but were wary of the dangers of disclosure. Disclosure decisions were made by judging the context against internally held criteria. If criteria were not met, then disclosures were not made. Outcomes, whether positive or negative, served to reinforce the value of disclosure and the importance of managing risks, creating a positive feedback loop.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest factors that are important for trainers to consider when deciding whether or not to disclose. The six‐factor framework developed may be useful for trainers to consider within reflective practice, supervision or during guided self‐reflection in order to make safe, helpful and ethical decisions.

Disclosures

Many of my FERPA Doc® columns are about disclosures of education records. And since I want to assist registrars to make FERPA‐compliant decisions with situations that confront them, I spend a lot of time providing a basis for a colleague to consider when making a disclosure decision. I've also attempted to point out that disclosures are situational. One registrar may decide to disclose, or not disclose, an education record whereas another registrar at another college may make a decision that is completely opposite from the former…and both of those decisions can be FERPA‐compliant.

Mental health issues and illness and substance use disorder (non-)disclosure to a supervisor: a cross-sectional study on beliefs, attitudes and needs of military personnel

ObjectivesResearch suggests that military personnel frequently delay disclosing mental health issues and illness (MHI), including substance use disorder, to supervisors. This delay causes missed opportunities for support and workplace accommodations...

The Moderating Role of Online Social Media in the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure and Investment Decisions: Evidence from Egypt

Despite the spread and progress in the literature related to the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance around the world as one of the most essential tools for achieving sustainable development in society, its value relevance is still uncertain. Using a survey approach involving investors dealing in stocks of 60 enterprises listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) and included in the environmental, social, and governance index (S&P/EGX ESG index) and the equal-weight index (EGX100 EWI index), we empirically examine the importance of CSR financial performance disclosure by examining the extent to which it can influence investors’ choices. In addition, we assess whether company reputation acquired through online social media (OSM) influences the extent to which CSR performance disclosure influences such judgments. To examine these matters, we conduct two tests: the first examines the influence of disclosure of company environmental activities on investors’ decisions and the other examines the influence of disclosure of company social activities on investor decisions. Turning to our key results, we find that investment decision makers in both experiments tend to invest only in companies that have higher CSR performance scores. In the context of OSM, we provide and discuss empirical evidence that investment decision makers are more responsive to investing in companies included in the S&P/EGX ESG index, which have a positive e-reputation for CSR performance, than companies included in the EGX100 EWI index, which do not have such a reputation, which confirms that e-reputation, as one of the most important outputs of OSM, has a marginal impact on investment decisions and moderates the relation between disclosure of high CSR scores and investors’ decisions. Therefore, this paper presents a modern starting point for CSR experts and academics, particularly in the emerging markets. In general, our paper expands the CSR-related investment literature. In line with the affect-as-information theory, our paper also expands the OSM literature by indicating that the effects of OSM depend on the information context, where failure to provide information to investors or other stakeholders in a timely manner may render the information useless.

Vigilance and habituation: Polymorphic experience effects in internet users' privacy disclosure decisions

Internet users frequently encounter diverse data requests, and their privacy disclosure decisions have attracted massive practical and scholarly attention. Nevertheless, how the accumulation of users' disclosure-related experiences influences their future privacy disclosure decisions is still under-explored. In this paper, we theoretically derive and examine the impacts of two types of disclosure-related experiences—privacy disclosure and privacy invasion experiences. These experiences respectively represent user experiences in the participation and feedback stages of privacy disclosure events. We draw on the systematic-heuristic model of information processing and the privacy calculus model to raise the core speculation that users' disclosure-related experiences exert multiple forms of effects on their privacy disclosure decisions through multiple theoretical routes (i.e., polymorphic experience effects). To test this speculation, we conducted two online survey studies (N = 485, N = 324) and yielded three major findings: (1) users' privacy disclosure experiences can promote their information disclosure intentions through direct and mediation routes (i.e., habituation effects); (2) users' privacy invasion experiences can deter their information disclosure intentions through mediation and moderation routes, yet the latter varied across the investigated contexts (i.e., vigilance effects); (3) the moderating role of privacy disclosure experiences and the directly influencing role of privacy invasion experiences were largely insignificant. Our research reveals the polymorphic impacts of disclosure-related experiences on Internet users' privacy disclosure decisions and lays the foundation for future theoretical and practical work.

Disclosing for Promotion or Perquisites: Local Government Financial Disclosure Strategy

ABSTRACT How to stimulate local officials to improve the financial disclosure quality is a fundamental question of the public accountability theory. Based on the manually collected data on disclosure quality of provincial final accounts report in China, this study examines the influence of provincial leaders’ utility goals on final accounts disclosure strategies. We find that provincial leaders voluntarily disclose higher-quality final accounts information in the first and last years of their tenure relative to other years. Furthermore, excellent governance performance and stronger position change expectations significantly increase the improvement degree of final accounts disclosure quality in the last years of the term. We also document that officials’ voluntary improvement in the final accounts disclosure quality directly leads to an increase in public satisfaction and trust in the government. Moreover, the voluntary improvement in the final accounts disclosure quality significantly strengthens the positive relationship between the governance performance and the promotion probability. Overall, based on the distinction between mandatory disclosure requirements and officials’ voluntary disclosure motives, this paper, from the perspective of officials’ utility goals, empirically investigates the micrologic behind local government’s financial disclosure decisions in authoritarian countries.

The Disclosure and Consequences of U.S. Critical Audit Matters

ABSTRACT This study uses difference-in-differences (DiD) analyses to examine the consequences of adopting the U.S. critical audit matter (CAM) disclosure requirement for preparers and users of financial reports. The CAM requirement is one of the largest expansions of the U.S. audit report since the 1940s. We document significant changes to financial statement footnotes referenced by CAMs, which suggests an indirect consequence where management disclosure changes in areas that are expected to be scrutinized following auditor-provided disclosure. Results also suggest that, on average, CAM disclosures do not provide incremental information to the market. To further examine market reaction, we develop well-specified prediction models for the expected number and subject areas of CAMs. We find limited initial evidence that the market reacts negatively when unexpected CAMs are disclosed. Overall, our findings provide insights on the new CAM standard and particularly demonstrate its relevance to management disclosure decisions and to the market.

Using Experience Sampling Methodology to Capture Disclosure Opportunities for Autistic Adults.

Despite a recent surge in literature contributing to our understanding of autistic individuals' disclosure experiences, the findings remain mixed. Research based on autistic people's perspective often indicates negative outcomes, while research that focuses on nonautistic perspectives is more positive. In addition, no disclosure study has used ecologically valid research methods, which help to reduce the risk of memory biases and are more representative of real-world experiences. The aim of this research was to capture outcomes from real-world disclosure opportunities as reported by a diverse range of autistic adults. Thirty-six autistic adults reported their disclosure opportunities through experience sampling methodology (58% female, 28% male, and 14% nonbinary), multiple times per day or week for 2 months. Importantly, we embedded coproduction from conception to dissemination, ensuring that the outputs are relevant and beneficial for the autistic community. In total, participants recorded 231 disclosure opportunities (M = 6.42, SD = 4.83). Two-thirds of opportunities (n = 153) were categorized as disclosure, where the participants decided to share they were autistic, and 33.8% (n = 78) were labeled nondisclosure, where the participants decided not to share that they were autistic. Qualitative thematic analysis of open responses resulted in five themes that illustrated the thought processes during disclosure opportunities, the reactions of others, and reflections following disclosure for autistic adults in our study. These findings show that disclosure decisions and outcomes are complex and are influenced by both internal and external factors. Both support for autistic adults navigating this process and knowledge for nonautistic individuals on the experiences of their autistic friends, family, and community members will help to alleviate negative experiences and improve the mental well-being of autistic adults who face these decisions daily.

Peer effect of proprietary information: A cost–benefit analysis of customer information disclosure

AbstractThis study examines how industry peer firms' information disclosures affect firms' customer disclosure. Using samples of Chinese A‐share companies from 2007 to 2019, our results show the following: first, the peer firms' customer disclosures have a positive and significant effect on firms' customer disclosures. The results remain robust after the instrumental variable alleviates the endogeneity problem. Second, firms refer to peer firms' disclosure decisions only when it is difficult to weigh the disclosure benefits and costs. Third, firms tend to imitate the disclosure decisions of industry leaders. The cost–benefit hypothesis of proprietary information disclosure proposed in this study contributes to the literature.

Impact of IFRS adoption on the disclosure of management forecasts by industry concentration

ABSTRACTWe aim to investigate the impact of the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on a firm’s strategic voluntary disclosure decisions under different product market conditions. In the corporate world, firms tactically decide the level of voluntary disclosures considering their benefits, like resolving information asymmetry in the financial market, and costs, like providing proprietary information to their rivals. The adoption of IFRS has affected the demands in the financial market for complementary information, and therefore, it would affect the incentive to withhold corporate information in consideration of proprietary costs in the product market. Using a sample of Korean firms, we find that the likelihood of withholding management forecasts in concentrated industries is weaker in the post-IFRS adoption phase than in the pre-IFRS adoption phase. This is because there are greater demands for corporate disclosures for firms in concentrated industries in the post-IFRS adoption phase than earlier. Moreover, we find that the influence of IFRS on the decision of firms in concentrated industries to disclose management forecasts is significant only for firms with higher market power and higher financial leverage.

The influence of avoidant attachment and perceived support on disclosure about involvement in donor-assisted conception to family and friends.

Do the attachment-related dimensions Anxiety and Avoidance and perceived partner and social support in recipients and donors influence disclosure to others about their involvement in donor-assisted conception (DAC)? A higher global score on attachment Avoidance was associated with greater non-disclosure about involvement in DAC by participants to relationship-specific others. Within the context of DAC, the topic of disclosure has been investigated in terms of the 'if', 'when', and the 'how' to disclose about circumstances of conception. Less focus, however, has been directed to investigating psychological theoretical frameworks that influence disclosure decisions to others, i.e. to whom information is disclosed and to what extent details are transparently revealed about the donor programme. The study was of a cross-sectional design and utilized a sample of 301 participants who were, or had been, involved in DAC, and were recruited across states of Australia. An online self-report questionnaire was completed between June 2014 and June 2017. English speaking participants consisting of 209 female recipients and 92 donors (36 sperm; 48 egg; 8 embryo donors). Of the recipients, 104 had successfully conceived children via donated gametes (68 sperm, 23 eggs, 6 embryos, and 7 recipients where both gametes were donated from 2 donors to create the embryo). Participants anonymously completed an online questionnaire consisting of five sections: Demographics, Donor Conception and Disclosure Practices, the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationships Structure, the Quality of Relationship Inventory, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Pearson correlations, independent samples t-tests, Chi-square, and ANOVA were used to explore the association between attachment Anxiety and Avoidance scores and disclosure about involvement in a DAC programme to significant others (i.e. parents, siblings, in-laws, and friends). Compared to published community cohort data, participants reported lower global scores on attachment Anxiety and Avoidance and high levels of romantic partner and social network support, suggestive of secure relationships in the overall study sample. A higher score on attachment Avoidance was associated with less disclosure to significant others in their social network (i.e. parents, siblings, in-laws, and close friends), even in the presence of strong partner support (partial r = -0.248, P = 0.005). Higher scores on attachment Avoidance were inversely associated with level of perceived partner and social network support (all P < 0.05). Irrespective of attachment scores, more than 90% of all participants agreed that a child born of DAC should be told about mode of conception. This study utilized a cross-sectional design precluding causal inferences between dimensions of insecure attachment and disclosure practices. Participants were required to self-report on the quality of their relationships with the potential for social desirability respondent bias. The study's self-selecting sample may limit generalization to participants who were dis-inclined to participate. Specifically, respondents who have an Avoidant attachment style, may have elected not to participate in the study. Given the increased use of biotechnology and digital facial recognition enabling self-discovery of the donor and the donor's extended family, non-disclosure about involvement in DAC may have consequences. An 'Avoidant' attachment style is important to assess as a potential risk factor for non-disclosure about involvement in DAC across different relational contexts (e.g. close family members and friends). Fertility counsellors should consider introducing a measure of attachment screening as a pre-emptive psychoeducational strategy during donor implications counselling. This information could be used to offer patients insight into concerns they have about DAC disclosures to key important relationships, providing a target of clinical intervention. No external funds were sought for this work. None of the authors have any competing interests to declare. N/A.

Factors influencing LGBTQ+ disclosure decision-making by Canadian health professionals: A qualitative study.

Disclosure of LGBTQ+ identities at work may reap benefits, but may also exacerbate harms. Faced with ambiguous outcomes, people engage in complex concealment/disclosure decision-making. For health professionals, in contexts of pervasive heteronormativity where disclosure to patients/clients is deemed to violate professional boundaries, stakes are high. This qualitative study with 13 LGBTQ+ health professionals across Canada used semi-structured interviews to explore factors affecting disclosure decision-making, particularly attending to power structures at multiple levels. Most participants engaged in constant risk-benefit assessment, disclosing strategically to colleagues, rarely to clients/patients. At the individual level they were affected by degree of LGBTQ+ visibility. At the institutional level they were affected by the culture of particular professional fields and practice settings, including type of care and type of patients/clients, as well as colleague interactions. Professional power-held by them, and held by others over them-directly affected disclosures. Finally, intersections of queer identities with other privileged or marginalized identities complicated disclosures. Power relations in the health professions shape LGBTQ+ identity disclosures in complex ways, with unpredictable outcomes. Concepts of professionalism are infused with heteronormativity, serving to regulate the gender and sexual identity expression of queer professionals. Disrupting heteronormativity is essential to forge more open professional cultures.

Kepemilikan Manajemen, Kepemilikan Institusional pada Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure dengan Kinerja Lingkungan sebagai Pemoderasi

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a positive activity carried out by companies to contribute to protecting the environment. The research objective was to obtain empirical evidence of the effect of management ownership and institutional ownership on CSR disclosure with environmental performance as a moderator. The research was conducted on manufacturing companies listed on the IDX in 2018-2020. There were 47 companies used as samples. Research data collection uses documentation techniques, while analysis techniques use Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA). The results of the analysis show that management ownership has no effect on CSR disclosure. Institutional ownership is correlated with CSR disclosure. Environmental performance cannot moderate the effect of management ownership on CSR disclosure. Environmental performance moderates the effect of institutional ownership on CSR disclosure. The implication of this research is that management ownership cannot be used as a reference for companies in making CSR disclosure decisions. Institutional ownership in this study can be used as a guideline and material for consideration when making CSR disclosure decisions.&#x0D; Keywords: Management Ownership; Institutional Ownership; Environmental Performance; Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure

Influence of green innovation on disclosure quality: Mediating role of media attention

The importance of green innovation has been underlined by the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). This study examines the data from Chinese listed companies for the years from 2003 to 2019 to investigate the effect of corporate green innovation behavior on information disclosure decisions, thereby clarifying how the outcomes of green innovation influence internal corporate decision-making. The results indicate that green innovation motivates companies to disclose high-quality information. In addition, after considering potential endogenous interferences and performing several robustness tests, this study obtains consistent results. It also reveals that media attention is a crucial mechanism that enables green innovation to enhance the quality of information disclosure. The effect of green innovation on disclosure quality also exhibits industry heterogeneity. Therefore, the guiding of media attention and policies on the basis of industry characteristics is also a key component in the development of green innovation.

Investigating Privacy Decision-Making Processes Among Nigerian Men and Women

The privacy calculus framework and trust heuristics has been used to understand people’s privacy decision-making processes. However, most existing studies are mainly focused on people from developed countries. In this study, we use the privacy calculus in combination with trust heuristics to analyse how people from a developing African nation make decisions. Specifically, we conduct a web-based experiment in which 232 participants from Nigeria used a financial planning prototype app to respond to a number of disclosure questions. We examined how their perceived benefit, perceived sensitivity, and trust in the app influenced their disclosure decisions. In addition, we investigated possible moderating effects of gender and used Partial Least Squares path modelling to analyze our data. Our results show that perceived sensitivity (risks) and perceived benefits influenced the decision-making process of our participants. In addition, women were more likely to change their perception of sensitivity and benefits based on trust, while men were more likely to disclose information based on their perception of benefits. We also found that women were less likely to disclose their information to the app than men. Based on our findings, we make recommendations for educators, financial institutions, designers, and policymakers that aim to raise privacy awareness and design interventions in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Litigation Risk and Environmental Disclosure Decisions

Litigation Risk and Environmental Disclosure Decisions

When Should the Platform adopt Blockchain Technology under the Transparency Awareness and Privacy Concerns?

More and more companies promote their products as sustainable products, but many firms have been exposed to quality and safety issues, which makes consumer question the true quality of the ‘sustainable product’. The platform can adopt blockchain technology to attract more consumers by disclosing reliable product information to the consumer, but it will also result in a risk of privacy leakage through registering the blockchain. Hence, we consider a platform-based supply chain that includes a supplier and a platform. We investigate the pricing and information disclosure decision of the platform, then analyze the blockchain adoption strategy of the platform under the consumer’s transparency awareness and privacy concern. We find that when the transparency cost is sufficiently low, it is beneficial for the platform to adopt blockchain technology. Interestingly, blockchain adoption is beneficial for the supplier and the whole supply chain but hurts the platform under a certain threshold. Specifically, the platform is more sensitive to the increase in consumers’ privacy concerns and transparency costs compared to the retailer. This is because of the cost of information disclosure. Counterintuitively, when transparency awareness is high, the platform will even decrease the retail price as the increasing proportional cost of blockchain technology. Additionally, we find that there exists a ‘win-win-win’ strategy when transparency awareness is high, and privacy concern is low, in which the application of blockchain technology will benefit the supplier, platform, and consumers.

Being seen: The lived experience of psychodynamic practitioners disclosing or not disclosing sight impairment

ABSTRACT The taboo of therapist self-disclosure and literature addressing disclosure and disability issues from a psychodynamic perspective is explored. Research on disclosure decisions among physically impaired practitioners is limited. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis qualitative research methodology was employed to understand the lived experience of psychodynamic practitioners with sight impairment to understand disclosure decision-making processes in a therapeutic setting. Six participants self-identified as sight impaired psychodynamic practitioners and were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Findings showed that the experience of working as a practitioner with sight impairment is a tenacious endeavour, requiring high levels of self-awareness and determination in navigating the minefield of self-disclosure, daring to be seen by others, holding the patient’s need to be seen and journeying through loss and acceptance of the changing self. Results showed that there is an inverse relationship between likelihood to self-disclose sight impairment and the extent to which practitioners work with unconscious process and transference. Ultimately, the capacity to reclaim disavowed parts of the self, defined therapists’ ability to make therapeutic disclosure decisions. Suggestions for future research, clinical and ethical implications are provided plus recommendations for impaired practitioners and those who work with difference.

Industry Competition, Corporate Governance, and Voluntary Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Information: Evidence from South Korea

This study investigates the relationship between industry competition and managers' voluntary disclosure policies and examined how the corporate governance structure affects this relationship in South Korean companies. The fiercer the competition within the industry to which the company belongs, the higher the incentive for managers to perform strategic actions to improve their competition status. This increase in the strategic incentives of managers can be seen through voluntary disclosure policies. The empirical results of this study are as follows. First, it was found that there was a negative relationship between the degree of industry competition and the level of voluntary disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions information. This means that managers perform less disclosure to maximize the value of the company because the more competition within the industry intensifies, the higher the proprietary cost of disclosing information on greenhouse gas emissions information. Second, it was found that the corporate governance structure weakened the relationship between the degree of industry competition and the level of corporate voluntary disclosure. These results can be interpreted as that a good governance structure supports such managers' disclosure decisions because managers are more likely to choose disclosure policies to maximize the value of the company than personal benefits even in the fierce industry competition.