This study employed a longitudinal design with longitudinal analyses to examine adolescent information management within the family system. Participants were 244 adolescents (122 sibling dyads; ages 9–16) and their parents from a Midwestern college town. Families with two adolescent siblings and two parents completed annual assessments across three waves that included questionnaires, interviews, and observed parent-adolescent and sibling interactions.
The project examined patterns of adolescents' disclosure to mothers, fathers, and siblings, including how much and how frequently adolescents disclosed to each family member and whether these patterns changed across development. It also investigated whether disclosure varied across social cognitive domains (i.e., personal, prudential, moral, conventional, and multifaceted) and whether disclosure predicted adolescent adjustment (e.g., depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and problem behavior) and family relationship quality over time. In addition, the study examined whether age, birth order, and gender were associated with disclosure to parents and siblings, as well as how communication and interaction behaviors differed when adolescents disclosed to parents versus siblings.
