Affective Self-Disclosure and Marital Adjustment: A Test of Equity Theory

Based upon responses to questionnaries by 162 university married-housing couples (324 persons), equity theory was used to explain the relations between affective self-disclosure and marital adjustment. Specifically, it was found that the greater the discrepancy in partners' affective self-disclosure, the less was an individual's marital adjustment. This finding held for individuals who indicated receiving either more or less disclosure than they gave. In addition, individuals who indicated high levels of marital adjustment were more likely than those who indicated low levels of marital adjustment to distort selectively their perceptions of disclosure received, in an apparent attempt to eliminate distress from their relationships.