Communication Boundary Management: A Theoretical Model of Managing Disclosure of Private Information Between Marital Couples

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical approach that may be used to understand the way individuals regulate disclosure of private information. The communication boundary management perspective, while more generally applicable, in this presentation focuses on the way marital couples manage talking about private matters with each other. This theoretical perspective presents a boundary coordination process representing couples' management of communication boundaries in balancing a need for difclosure with the need for privacy. The theory identifies the prerequisite conditions for disclosure and the message strategies a disclosing spouse may use to tell private information, as well as the strategic messages the marital partner may use to reply. In addition, a proposal for the way the disclosing spouse and receiving partner manage the coordination of their communication boundaries is presented.

Living Together Apart: Perceived Concealment as a Signal of Exclusion in Marital Relationships

“…Perceiving secrecy in close relationships should create a feeling of "I versus you" because it separates "me, the outsider, who does not know about your secret" from "you who knows but does not want to share your secret with me." Thereby, the perception of concealment conveys a powerful signal of social distance and separation (e.g., Petronio, 1991;Simmel, 1950) and lack of acceptance and even rejection (cf. Finkenauer et al, 2005;Kowalski, Walker, Wilkinson, Queen, & Sharpe, 2003).…”

“Let's (Not) Talk About That”: Bridging the Past Sexual Experiences Taboo to Build Healthy Romantic Relationships

“…Communication privacy management theory (Petronio, 1991(Petronio, , 2000(Petronio, , 2002 assumes that the revelation of otherwise private information in a relationship may leave individuals feeling vulnerable and/or resentful. In the case of disclosing about past sexual experiences, these feelings may be triggered by the suffering of the stigma associated with either "too much" or "too little" experience.…”

The effects of general privacy concerns and transactional privacy concerns on Facebook apps usage

“…Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory posits that because privacy is an inherent need, individuals will erect boundaries around their personal information and regulate access based on implicit privacy rules (Petronio 1991). Personal privacy boundaries might be transformed to collective privacy boundaries when individuals' personal information is shared among friends.…”

“…The overarching theory that guides the development of the research model is the CPM theory (Petronio 1991), which was derived from past works examining the dyadic boundary model of information provision (e.g., Altman 1975;Derlega and Chaikin 1977). This theory was proposed to explain Facebook app users' decision making towards information disclosure in social exchange.…”