HEALTH EFFECTS OF DISCLOSING SECRETS TO IMAGINED ACCEPTING VERSUS NONACCEPTING CONFIDANTS

In Experiment 1, undergraduates (N = 87) wrote about a personal secret while imagining (a) an accepting confidant, (b) a nonaccepting confidant, or (c) no confidant; or they wrote about trivial events. Unlike the no–confidant group, the accepting group reported fewer illnesses at 8–week follow–up than did the nonaccepting group, especially to the extent that the accepting group found their confidants to be accepting and discreet. Experiment 2 (N= 74) used the same design, except that the confidant manipulation came after the writing. Eight weeks later, the accepting group—having imagined reactions that were more accepting and less judgmental than the nonaccepting group—again reported fewer illnesses than did the nonaccepting group. The authors suggest that when people keep personal secrets, they often do so because they fear being ostracized. Revealing to an accepting confidant can reduce this feeling of alienation and, as a consequence, can lead to health benefits.

[1]  Karin Coifman,et al.  The Importance of Being Flexible , 2004, Psychological science.

[2]  Shelley E. Taylor,et al.  Accelerated Course of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Gay Men Who Conceal Their Homosexual Identity , 1996, Psychosomatic medicine.

[3]  A. Vinokur,et al.  Social support and undermining in close relationships: their independent effects on the mental health of unemployed persons. , 1993, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[4]  J. Herman,et al.  Father-Daughter Incest. , 1982 .

[5]  W. Stroebe,et al.  Handbook of bereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care , 2001 .

[6]  C. Hoyt.  Test reliability estimated by analysis of variance , 1941 .

[7]  William B. Stiles,et al.  I Have to Talk to Somebody , 1987 .

[8]  S. Lepore.  Social conflict, social support, and psychological distress: evidence of cross-domain buffering effects. , 1992, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[9]  Social identity and physical health: accelerated HIV progression in rejection-sensitive gay men. , 1997, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[10]  J. Smyth,et al.  Written emotional expression: effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. , 1998, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[11]  R. L. Chastain,et al.  Self-Concealment: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Health Implications , 1990 .

[12]  J. Pennebaker,et al.  Effects of disclosure of traumatic events on illness behavior among psychiatric prison inmates. , 2000 .

[13]  L. Sudderth.  “It'll Come Right Back at Me” , 1998 .

[14]  A. Horvath,et al.  The development of the Working Alliance Inventory. , 1986 .

[15]  A. L. Peck,et al.  The family constellation and overt incestuous relations between father and daughter. , 1954, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[16]  Rachel Bowlby,et al.  Studies in hysteria , 1895 .

[17]  Charles S. Carver,et al.  Emotional Expression in Written Essays and Psychotherapy , 1989 .

[18]  J. Goodwin.  Sexual abuse: Incest victims and their families , 1982 .

[19]  James W. Pennebaker,et al.  CHANGES IN CIRCULATING LYMPHOCYTE NUMBERS FOLLOWING EMOTIONAL DISCLOSURE: EVIDENCE OF BUFFERING? , 1997 .

[20]  C. Holahan,et al.  Social context, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms: an expanded model with cardiac patients. , 1997, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[21]  S. Lepore,et al.  Talking Facilitates Cognitive-Emotional Processes of Adaptation to an Acute Stressor , 2001 .

[22]  P. Rosenblatt,et al.  Imagined Interactions and the Family , 1986 .

[23]  R. C. Silver,et al.  Social constraints, intrusive thoughts, and depressive symptoms among bereaved mothers. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[24]  K J Petrie,et al.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1995, Vol , 2000 .

[25]  B. Major,et al.  Perceived social support, self-efficacy, and adjustment to abortion. , 1990, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[26]  Anita L. Vangelisti,et al.  Family Secrets: Forms, Functions and Correlates , 1994 .

[27]  A. E. Kelly.  Clients' secret keeping in outpatient therapy. , 1998 .

[28]  I. Morley,et al.  Shame and non-disclosure: A study of the emotional isolation of people referred for psychotherapy. , 2001, The British journal of medical psychology.

[29]  L. Sharp,et al.  Accelerating the coping process. , 1990, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[30]  J. Pennebaker.  Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process , 1997 .

[31]  A. E. Kelly,et al.  The Psychology of Secrets , 2002 .

[32]  N. Kemeny,et al.  Supportive and Negative Responses in the Partner Relationship: Their Association with Psychological Adjustment Among Individuals with Cancer , 2004, Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

[33]  A. E. Kelly,et al.  Consequences of revealing personal secrets. , 1996 .

[34]  J. Pennebaker,et al.  Disclosing and sharing emotion: Psychological, social and health consequences , 2001 .

[35]  R. Lazarus.  The trivialization of distress. , 1984 .

[36]  D. Spiegel.  Effects of Psychosocial Support on Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer , 1992 .

[37]  Daniel M. Wegner,et al.  The hyperaccessibility of suppressed thoughts. , 1992 .

[38]  Christine Kenny,et al.  What is it about Revealing Secrets that is Beneficial? , 2001 .

[39]  A. Wyler,et al.  The seriousness of illness rating scale: reproducibility. , 1970, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[40]  A. Horvath,et al.  Development and validation of the Working Alliance Inventory. , 1989 .

[41]  R. Baumeister,et al.  The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[42]  J. Pennebaker,et al.  Forming a story: the health benefits of narrative. , 1999, Journal of clinical psychology.

[43]  B. Justice,et al.  The Broken Taboo: Sex in the Family , 1979 .

[44]  A. Wyler,et al.  Seriousness of illness rating scale. , 1968, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[45]  Sissela Bok,et al.  Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation , 1982 .

[46]  S. Cole,et al.  Elevated physical health risk among gay men who conceal their homosexual identity. , 1996, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[47]  Sarah E. Ullman,et al.  Social Reactions, Coping Strategies, and Self-Blame Attributions in Adjustment to Sexual Assault , 1996 .

[48]  S. Butler.  Conspiracy of Silence: The Trauma of Incest , 1978 .

[49]  Irwin G. Sarason,et al.  Social support: An interactional view. , 1990 .

[50]  K. Rook,et al.  The negative side of social interaction: impact on psychological well-being. , 1984, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[51]  C. Hill,et al.  Beneath the surface of long-term therapy: Therapist and client report of their own and each other's covert processes. , 1993 .

[52]  J. Pennebaker,et al.  Confronting a traumatic event: toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. , 1986, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[53]  J. Pennebaker,et al.  Patterns of Natural Language Use: Disclosure, Personality, and Social Integration , 2001 .

[54]  David J. Abramis,et al.  Effects of Different Sources of Social support and Social Conflict on Emotional Well-Being , 1985 .