Privacy and Self‐Disclosure in Social Relationships

Privacy is viewed as a process of boundary regulation, controlling how much (or how little) contact an individual maintains with others. Self‐disclosure involves the verbal transmission of information. Adjustment of self‐disclosure outputs and inputs is boundary regulation; the extent of control one maintains over this exchange of information contributes to the amount of privacy one has in a social relationship. Regulation of interpersonal boundaries affects the kinds of relationships we maintain with others (as in friendships and power relationships). There also are implications for personality functioning. Reconceptualizing self‐disclosure as a form of boundary adjustment in the maintenance of privacy may provide a useful framework for integrating the self‐disclosure literature.