The Effect of Relationship Length, SelfDisclosure, and Relational Closeness on the

Presence of
Domestic Violence within Romantic Relationships

Michael Johnson, Lauren Kordalski, Laura Roa, Stephanie Shepherd,

Jesse Tessier, Taylor Vanasse

Background

Relationships

Examined level of disclosure, relational closeness and length of

relationships in relation to incidences of domestic violence

Sample of 90 Bryant University students

Literature Review
Level of disclosure
A deliberate or voluntary activity whereby people reveal information, thoughts and feelings about
themselves to at least one other person during an interaction. Derlega, Greene, and Winstead

Social Penetration Theory

Superficial -----> Intimate

High level of trust

Literature continued.
Relational Closeness
Equivalent to the degree of interdependence between partners in a relationship Kelly, Berscheid,
Christensen, Harvey, Huston, & Levinger

Rewards and benefits, costs, satisfaction, stability, and security of any given relationship

Strength of influence

Equity Theory - Rewards

Methods
Participants
-

Ranged from 18-30 year old

Undergraduate students at Bryant University
The average age was 20 years old
Total of 90 surveys completed
80 of the participants were currently involved in a romantic relationship
Participants were asked different questions regarding their romantic
relationship

Methods
Procedure:
IRB approval
Group member requirements
Prior warnings
Consent forms given before survey
Hard Copies
Anonymous

Methods: Manipulation
Distributed surveys first to people known to
be in a relationship.
Resulted in the participants being mostly but
not limited to people who were believed to be
in relationships
The survey was anonymous but majority of
participants knew the member of the group
that handed them the survey.

Scales

Does length of relationship impact level of disclosure?

Likert Scale

Does length of relationship impact level of conflict style?

Semantic Differential-Style (how often is verbal aggression used)

Does length of relationship impact level of relational closeness?

UniDimensional Relationship Closeness Scale (straight forward)

Are relational closeness, level of disclosure, and conflict style related to domestic violence?
Check all that apply

Results
Reliability: Used Cronbachs Alpha
-Our Self-Disclosure scale measured .79
-Acceptable
-Our Relational Closeness scale measured .93
-Acceptable

Hypotheses:
1: Participants who report lower levels of self-disclosure within romantic relationships are more likely to experience
episodes of domestic violence perpetrated by their partner.
- Not Significant

2: Participants who report lower levels of relational closeness with their partner are more likely to experience episodes
of domestic violence within their romantic relationship.
- Not Significant

*In order for an ANOVA to be significant, at least thirty people need to respond to the question and
this number was not reached.

Results continued
3: Participants who have been in relationships for longer periods of time will report higher levels of selfdisclosure and relational closeness
-Moderate correlation between self-disclosure and closeness (r-value of 0.57)
-Not significant (p-value of .641 which is > .05)

Additional Data:
-Moderate correlation between length of relationship and level of closeness (r-value of .344)
-Significant (p-value of .002, < .05)

Discussion
3 key conclusions:
1. No significant relationship between level of self
disclosure and length of relationship
2. Positive correlation between length of
relationship and level of closeness
3. Insignificant findings for domestic violence

Discussion continued

Relational closeness- related studies

Cropley & Reid, 2008

Self -disclosure
Inconsistencies with previous studies
Altman & Taylor, 1973

Domestic violence

A significant public health problem...most prevalent in

early adulthood,

Limitations
More participants
Variety of survey-takers
Changes to survey

Future Research

Communication Privacy Management Theory

Theories of Emotion
Communicative Response Theories
Boundary turbulence?
How communication is affected after
transgressions

Questions?