A Model of Privacy Control: Examining the Criteria That Predict Emerging Adults’ Likelihood to Reveal Private Information to Their Parents

The primary goal of this study was to establish a model of privacy control, stemming from Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory, between the parent and the emerging adult child (N = 851) to predict the likelihood to reveal private information. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the study confirmed that the CPM criteria variables (culture, gender, context, motivation, and risk–benefit ratio) exert an influence on revealing private information. Three psychosocial outcome variables were also examined: rumination, stress, and well-being. Specifically, emerging adults reporting a communicatively open family relational culture, low levels of relational quality, and low levels of relational risk were more likely to reveal private information to their parents, while personal characteristics, perceived reciprocity, characteristics of the confidant, and stigma risks did not significantly affect the likelihood to reveal private information. The implications of the study suggest that predictors of privacy management center on the communication and relational factors between emerging adult children and their parents.