The Effects of Familial and Community Factors on System-Involved Adolescent Girls Francesca Bottazzi Self-Disclosure In Preschoolers Within Classroom Settings: Teachers and Peers

Self-Disclosure In Preschoolers Within Classroom Settings: Teachers and Peers Francesca Bottazzi

Self-disclosure is defined by psychologist Jon G. Allen (1974) as the voluntary interchanging of personal information through communication with others. This form of interpersonal communication is necessary for the sustainability of socially intimate relationships starting from a young age, and can be displayed in a variety of ways (Allen, 1974; Buhrmester & Prager, 1995). The extent of information a person of any age will voluntarily disclose is related to three factors: personal characteristics of the individual disclosing, personal characteristics of the person to whom they are disclosing, and the nature of the relationship between them (Pederson & Higbee, 1969). These factors are important to consider when conducting studies involving child participants, wherein researchers seek to learn about children’s experiences from their point of view through open and honest self-disclosure (Mayeza, 2017). For young children who are socially developing, such as preschoolers, self-disclosure is related to certain social and environmental contexts that prompt them to speak (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Kudo & Simkin, 2003). While there is extant literature focusing on peer-to-peer self-disclosure, further research is required to better understand self-disclosure within hierarchical relationships (e.g., teacher-student relationships; Kam, Gasiorek, Pines, & Fazio, 2018; Kudo & Simkin, 2003). This power dynamic is important to consider in the study of selfdisclosure because it may affect how preschoolers’ self-disclose (Buhrmester, 1990).

Patterns of Youth Self-Disclosure

Since preschoolers frequently engage in communication with their peers, researchers have identified common patterns of their self-disclosure (Buhrmester, 1990; Chen & Nakazawa, 2012). For example, there is a marked increase in self-disclosure to same-sex peers, as opposed to opposite-sex peers (Buhrmester, 1990; Buhrmester & Prager, 1995). This pattern remains true when preschoolers disclose to parents and teachers, wherein boys most often disclose to their fathers and male teachers, and girls to their mothers and female teachers (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Woolfolk & Woolfolk, 1975). Between preschool boys and girls, girls tend to disclose more overall (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Papini, Farmer, Clark, Micka, & Barnett, 1990). However, these patterns of self-disclosure are malleable, changing with environmental and contextual influences such as setting, and whom the preschooler is speaking with (Afifi & Steuber, 2009; Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Kam et al., 2018). Preschoolers most often self-disclose to their peers for the purpose of group acceptance, only opening up to friends who validate them and with whom they can connect based on mutual experiences and interests (Buhrmester, 1990; Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1996). As preschoolers have more frequent affectionate exchanges with their peers, their friendships become more intimate and trusting over time, which results in added instances of self-disclosure (Buhrmester, 1990). In contrast, preschoolers hesitate to self-disclose to individuals with whom they experience high tension or low amounts of support, validation, and trust (Berhmester, 1990; Berhmester & Prager, 1995; Ladd et al., 1996). In other words, if a preschooler does not perceive that their self-disclosure will be received well, they will not open up (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; McElvaney, Greene, & Hogan, 2014). This is especially true within studentteacher relationships, as children are able to discern whether to self-disclose by determining how warm, open, and accepting the teacher is based on positive or negative verbal statements (e.g., praise or criticism) and nonverbal cues (e.g., tone of voice, facial expression, and posture; Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Woolfolk & Woolfolk, 1975). For example, preschool-age students are more likely to self-disclose to teachers who display positivity and warmth, through smiling and nodding, than teachers who present negatively and impersonal, by frowning or using an angry tone of voice (Woolfolk & Woolfolk, 1975). These findings further highlight how preschoolers self-disclose to individuals they believe will be the most helpful and validating, based on an assessment of how their audience will react to the content of their disclosure (Afifi & Steuber, 2009; Behrmester & Prager, 1995; Vangelisti & Caughlin, 1997).

Self Disclosure and Communicative Development

Self-disclosure patterns are constantly evolving during childhood, wherein social interactions influence and are influenced by the child’s social development (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995). In this bidirectional relationship, preschoolers’ cognitive and social development affects their communicative skills, shaping the nature of their self-disclosure (Hershkowitz, Lamb, Orbach, Katz, & Horowitz, 2012; Nelson & Fivush, 2004). Since preschool-age children are still developing social and communication skills, they often require prompting through conversations with teachers and peers, and the utilization of materials such as books and toys to form a cohesive narrative (i.e., a personal experience typically shared sequentially in first person; Hershkowitz et al., 2012; Nelson & Fivush, 2004). Prompting offers children a reason to share, and teachers

typically use this self-disclosure technique to help preschoolers construct their personal narratives, which is necessary for the social process of communication (Hershkowitz et al., 2012; Nelson & Fivush, 2004). In addition to fostering group acceptance, self-disclosure is normally prompted to gain understanding and comfort from others due to personal issues and concerns, such as lived experiences and cultural pressures or demands (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Kam et al., 2018). Thus, in early childhood, self-disclosure is a means by which children may gain social input or provisions that address their issues and concerns as well as to gain comfort for their distress (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995).

Current Study

The current study sought to establish a better understanding of situational and contextual factors that foster open and honest self-disclosure from preschoolers to adults and peers, especially in classroom settings, as there is a lack of literature that specifically addresses this (McElvaney et al., 2014). To bridge the gap in current research, this study analyzed the factors that prompt self-disclosure in preschoolers, such as environment, emotional affect, and interlocutors of selfdisclosure. Thus, in order to improve future communication between teachers and students, the current study was guided by the following research question: In what contexts and to whom do preschoolers self-disclose?

Method

Participants

Three preschool girls and one preschool boy from a private preschool in downtown Manhattan participated in this study (N = 4). Sally is a three-year old White-American; Nora is a three-year-old African-American; Lauren is a four-year-old Asian-American; and Brian is a four-year-old White-American. The participants’ names were changed for the purpose of confidentiality. The researcher took on the role of a classroom teacher within the classroom setting in a private school, where she worked closely with all four student participants on a weekly basis. All student participants were in the same class and were encouraged to commingle during lunch and free play.

Procedure

The researcher observed instances of self-disclosure between participants and their peers, as well as between participants and the teacher, within the classroom setting. Following observations, field notes consisting of written verbatim accounts detailing the self-disclosures were recorded. The field notes focused on how often each child self-disclosed, the child’s affect during each disclosure, the content of self disclosure, and whether or not that disclosure was voluntary. Field notes were recorded biweekly within the hour after leaving a three-hour, weekly volunteer shift at the private preschool, where the researcher worked as an assistant teacher over the course of sixteen weeks.

Coding

Field notes were coded thematically, wherein common themes across the preschoolers’ self-disclosures were recorded. Field notes were coded for instances of self-disclosure, defined as any instance where a participant spoke about themselves, their experiences, or an event which impacted them. Each instance of self-disclosure was then coded for whether (1) it was prompted or voluntary, (2) surface-level (e.g., consisting of past facts, recent events) or personal (i.e., revealing family dynamics, personal interests, feelings, or values), and (3) the participants’ displayed emotional affect while disclosing (i.e., indifferent nondiscloser, anxious non-discloser, concerned revealer, anxious revealers, or secure revealers). Additionally, each observation was also coded for whether the self-disclosure was to a peer or teacher, and whether the interaction took place in a group or one-on-one setting. The first two codes were chosen by the researcher prior to coding, based on Allen’s (1974) definition of self-disclosure, such that it can either be voluntary or surface level. The third code was adapted from the coding system used by Kam et al., 2018. For the purpose of this study, the code indifferent nondiscloser was assigned when an appeared to make a deliberate choice to refrain from disclosing with no change in emotional affect (e.g., showing disinterest in sharing). This differs from an anxious non-discloser who fails to disclose information due to a heightened anxious emotional state, which ultimately impedes their ability to discuss something distressful. Concerned or anxious revealers are used interchangeably, and are more often than not: prompted, personal, or difficult for an individual to speak about, as seen through vocal pauses, restricted body language, and stuttering. Concerned and anxious revealers are usually pushed to disclose information based on situational factors, such as peer pressure. Lastly, a secure revealer is operationalized as an individual who self-discloses more often than not: voluntary, personal or surface level information (Kam et al., 2018).

Results

Most preschool participants were secure revealers, disclosing both personal and surface level information both voluntarily and openly. These results suggest that the preschoolers self-disclosed to peers and teachers, feeling secure as they shared with them, mirroring current literature about secure revealers (Kam et al., 2018). Aside from instances of secure revealing, there was one recorded instance of anxious revealing, which was influenced by the participant’s emotional state at the time of disclosure. Within the context of anxious revealing, the participant was initially held back by his anxious emotional affect, until he was comforted into a sufficiently secure state which allowed for self-disclosure. This indicates that when anxious, a child will still disclose so long as they are given sufficient prompting by a trusted individual who they believe will

offer them guidance and comfort (Kam et al., 2018). In this way, preschool-aged children disclose similarly to teachers as they do to peers, relying on the foundation of trust and connection to allow themselves to self-disclose, regardless of affect.

Type of Discloser

The majority of preschool participants were found to be secure revealers when self-disclosing to their teacher or peers. However, there were two instances of anxious self-disclosure and concerned self-disclosure respectively. In one example, the anxious revealer, Brian, was crying due to an altercation he had with the main teacher. While Brian separated himself from the group and began to cry alone, the assistant teacher went up to him privately to calm him down, asking him what had happened. He stated that the teacher is “always ‘extra mean’ to [him].” This interaction was coded as anxious disclosure due to Brian’s heightened emotional state, and the assistant teacher having to prompt him first. In another example, the concerned self-disclosure, Sally, noticed a classmate with the same lunchbox as her, and excitedly yelled to her to let her know, but the classmate responded by saying that it was not the same. This lack of agreement seemed to bother Sally due to her continued attempts to convince the classmate that they were the same. She then disclosed that “[her] mom bought [the] lunchbox for [her] right before school started. [Her] mom knows purple is [her] favorite color,” explaining why the situation was significant to her. Sally continued to self-disclose to her classmate in an attempt to foster a connection with her, demonstrating that the need to connect and need for acceptance drives self-disclosure (Buhrmester, 1990; Buhrmester & Prager, 1995). Aside from the two interactions above, the four other preschool participants were found to be secure revelears based on their loud and personal conversations, and positive physical attributes such as smiling. For example, when the main teacher asked everyone how their day was going, Lauren, who was seated across the table, mentioned that she “had a bad dream last night! About a monster.” Then Nora, in turn, who was sitting to Lauren’s side, quickly added that “Lauren’s dream sounds like a dream that [she] had once where there was a monster under [her] bed that was trying to get [her].” Additionally, Nora took the opportunity to further disclose more individual details about her own dream, noting that her dream did not end up being a nightmare because in the end “[her] mom came into [her] room and fought off the monster.” In this example, both preschoolers were securely self-disclosing their mutual experience, and as such were fostering a friendship and developing their communicative skills. This open, voluntary, friendly dialogue suggests that disclosing information about shared experiences allows preschool students to interact socially with their peers and gain acceptance (Buhrmester, 1990; Buhrmester & Prager, 1995).

Prompted Versus Voluntary and Personal Versus Surface Level

The type of disclosure displayed by the participants was defined based on whether it was personal or surface level, and prompted or voluntary. Across all participants, personal information was disclosed more voluntarily in private settings, whereas surface level disclosures were found in group settings. Within group contexts, such as lunch time or dramatic play, preschoolers voluntarily offered surface level information about their interests or experiences, attempting to connect with their peers and find commonalities. For example, during lunch time, Lauren and the teacher discussed how “[they] both like the flavor chocolate over vanilla,” and from across the room, Sally shouted that “[her] favorite flavor is chocolate, too.” Within group settings, preschoolers actively disclosed surface level information, which in turn, facilitated peer connection. These results suggest that preschool-age children self-disclose as a means of fostering connections with peers, but also demonstrate how eagerly preschool-aged children self-disclose to teachers, too (Buhrmester, 1990; Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Ladd et al., 1996). Moreover, it was found that preschool-aged children also self-disclosed their differences, as long as they were still able to reach some form of mutuality. For example, upon opening her lunch, Lauren cried out in joy that her mom packed her mac and cheese, her favorite food. Hearing this, Nora turned to Lauren and said “[I] don’t like mac and cheese, but [my] mom packed [me] spaghetti, which is [my] favorite food.” Even when the content of the disclosure was different, such as a favorite food, preschoolers voluntarily self-disclosed as a means of connecting. For preschoolers, regardless of setting, the line between voluntary and prompted self-disclosure is less clear, echoing studies that suggest that preschoolers generally need more verbal and visual prompting to self-disclose information (Behrmester, 1990; Kam et al., 2018). In one occasion, one of the participants, Nora pointed to an illustration of a black woman with an afro, declaring that it looked just like her mom. The teacher continued by asking her questions about the resemblance, and Nora responded by saying that they have the same hair. This subsequent prompting from the teacher allowed for the participant to voluntarily provide a more detailed personal disclosure. After being prompted, Nora was comfortable elaborating on the fact that she and her mother once wore their hair the same way, but she personally prefers to wear her hair in braids.This pattern of disclosure was noted both within secure disclosers, like Nora, and in anxious revealers such as Brian. In the aforementioned example, the assistant teacher asked Brian to speak with him privately about his experience with the main teacher, to which Brian stated that she is often mean to him. Once prompted for clarification, Brian stated that “even when [he’s] just minding [his] own business, the teacher makes snide comments to [him] about always needing to be quieter and less distracting, or scolds [him] out of nowhere.” He claims that “she just doesn’t like [him]. In Brian’s case, his personal disclosure was preceded by his heightened emotional state and need for

comfort. Much like Brian’s self-disclosure, the disclosure of personal information amongst all preschool-aged participants began as voluntary disclosures. In Nora’s case, her personal disclosure was induced by the visual stimulus of an illustration that was reminiscent of her mother. However, the subsequent prompting of an initially voluntary personal disclosure lead to a more detailed personal disclosure both in secure disclosers and anxious revealers. These results are in line with existing literature showing that anxious revealers require prompting to begin self-disclosing, whereas once secure revealers voluntarily selfdisclose, subsequent prompting leads to more self-disclosures (Buhrmester, 1990; Kam et al., 2018). Overall, secure disclosers openly and voluntarily selfdisclosed information in order to gain group acceptance and find commonality with peers and teachers. In terms of anxious or concerned revealers, the participants only disclosed to peers or teachers whom they thought would offer the most validation or support, but only after being prompted to do so. Lastly, the patterns of and reasons for self-disclosure remained consistent between all four participants. These results are significant such that they highlight teachers’ roles in prompting or building trust with their students, which can be useful for teachers who would like to encourage their students to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and ideas more effectively (Ryan, Kofman, & Aaron, 2011; Turner et al., 2007).

Discussion

For preschoolers, unprompted self-disclosure of personal interests serve as a way for them to connect on mutual experiences, and thus worked to facilitate group acceptance (Behrmester, 1990; Ladd et al., 1996). In the current study, the preschoolers were talkative and friendly towards both their peers and teachers. Due to the researcher’s role within the classroom as an assistant teacher, and her repeated exposure and interactions with the participants, a mutual bond of trust and acceptance was formed, creating the foundation upon which the children self-disclosed. As seen in secure disclosers, the trust between the teachers and students facilitated an open conversation about both personal and surface level details in one-on-one and group settings. Whereas anxious revealers required prompting in order to disclose information to the teacher in one-on-one settings. Despite some differences in the preschoolers’ emotional affect, they tended to disclose personal information to the teacher during one-on-one settings, suggesting that the trust between them was a crucial component for self-disclosure. Moreover, once further prompted, the preschoolers willingly and openly divulged more personal information as to further flesh out their narrative. However, in group settings, the preschoolers did not disclose nearly as much personal information, regardless of prompting. These findings align with current literature that suggests that self-disclosure in preschoolers is highly correlated to the social context in which they are in, and individualized interactions between them and their trusted peers or teachers may lead to increased instances of self-disclosure (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995; Kam et al., 2018; Kudo & Simkin, 2003). Regarding social contexts, preschoolers showed no hesitation in self-disclosing personal information despite an active classroom setting. Though a majority of personal selfdisclosures happened in individualized settings, a few disclosures were noted as occurring within group settings (i.e., during lunch time or dramatic play). This suggests that the setting may have less of an impact than the interpersonal relationship between the discloser and the listener, wherein trust seems to be a key motivating factor (Berhmester, 1990; Berhmester & Prager, 1995; Ladd et al., 1996). Thus, it should be noted that teachers who build a strong rapport with their students, based on trust, can more readily help them construct their personal narratives as a means to further their communicative skills (Hershkowitz et al., 2012). It is likely that the participants of this study were more willing to disclose personal information due to the foundational trust and comfort that was naturally formed between the teachers and students throughout the school year. The relationship between the participants and the teachers, as well as the participant’s familiarity with the classroom setting, may have lead to more disclosures, potentially skewing the results of this study. Therefore, due to the small sample size of this study, these findings may not be generalizable or applicable to the selfdisclosure of other preschoolers across other settings. Despite these limitations, the findings serve to fill the gap in the current literature surrounding preschool-age children’s communicative patterns across interpersonal contexts, such as in hierarchical relationships (e.g., between a teacher and student), and in one-on-one or group settings. Additionally, this study provides a conceptual understanding of self-disclosure within hierarchical relationships, which provides insight to how teachers can foster a classroom setting that promotes open, and voluntary self-disclosure, which ultimately helps students scaffold their personal narratives, something that is crucial for communicative and social development (Ryan et al., 2011; Turner et al., 2007). Future research can then be guided by these initial results to address preschoolers’ subsequent social development (i.e., how they perceive their own actions and individuality within the community), and the ways in which it is transformed by early childhood self-disclosure styles (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995).

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