Communication Privacy Management Theory: Effects on Mental Health and Willingness to Attend Profess

Introduction

For as long as mental health has been a topic of discussion, the stigma that is connected to it has been discussed. More recently, there has been more research devoted to the topic and an increase of its presence in the media; celebrities and cultural influencers are also starting to make mental health less taboo and more understood (Pescosolido et al., 2010). However, while people are coming to recognize the importance of addressing mental health, they still struggle to disclose that private information when difficulties arise with their own mental health.

Researchers have estimated that one out of every five adults in the United States experience mental illness each year (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2018). However, only 40% of those individuals seek treatment. This statistic does not even account for those who struggle with mental health yet do not qualify for diagnosis. Among other barriers that restrict an individual’s willingness to meet with a professional counselor, the boundaries, fears, and associated with disclosing private information greatly deterrs one from doing so.

Petronio’s communication privacy management (CPM) theory offers explanations for how individuals navigate relationships and decide whether to disclose their private information within those relationships. This theory, however, has been largely researched in friendship and familial contexts. The purpose and focus of the present study are to seek to understand the theory’s place within a professional relationship in which the discloser is the patient and the receiver is a professional, licensed counselor.

As guided by CPM, researchers proposed:

H1: Previous communication patterns surrounding the topic of mental health will affect individual’s willingness to go to counseling.

H2: Predisposition and relational prevalence played a greater role in whether individuals attended counseling than any of the other factors in the communication privacy management theory.

H3: Communication about mental illness with friends rather than family has a greater effect on whether individuals attend counseling. Read more.