Development of a Scale to Assess the Depth of Self-disclosure

Abstract

There are no scales which assess how much Japanese college students disclose about themselves while developing intimate relationships. The present study developed a scale of self-disclosure to measure the depth of self-disclosure. We conducted a questionnaire study with 299 university students. The results showed that the scale had a high sensitivity indicating different depths of self-disclosure reflecting four different levels: hobbies (level 1), difficult experiences (level 2), foibles (level 3), and inferior personality characteristics and abilities (level 4). The students showed different depths of self-disclosure for different partners, and consistent correlations were found with the scales for intimacy motivation and psychological adjustment.