The effects of biological sex and psychological gender on reported and behavioral intimacy and control of self‐disclosure

Abstract

This research investigated the effects of biological sex and psychological gender of discloser and biological sex of partner on reported and behavioral disclosure intimacy and control. It also investigated the relationships between self‐report and behavioral measures of self‐disclosure and the impact of sex and gender on their validity. Participants reported greater disclosure intimacy to same‐sex than to opposite‐sex targets, while behaviorally, females disclosed more intimately than males. Correlations between self‐report and behavioral measures for the total sample were not significant; sex and gender of respondent mediated those relationships, particularly for disclosure intimacy.

Key concepts:

• Self‐disclosure
• validation
• biological sex
• psychological gender
• self‐disclosure intimacy
• self‐disclosure control
• measurement
• reciprocity
• analysis of variance