Self-Concealment: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Health Implications
Abstract
This article introduces the construct of self-concealment, the active concealment from others of personal information that one perceives as negative or distressing. A Self-Concealment Scale (SCS) was developed and was included in a questionnaire battery completed by 306 subjects. The SCS had excellent psychometric properties. Self-concealment was conceptually and empirically distinguished from self-disclosure. Self-concealment significantly correlated with self-report measures of anxiety, depression, and bodily symptoms and accounted for a significant incremental percentage of the variance in physical and psychological symptoms even after controlling for occurrence of trauma, trauma distress, disclosure of the trauma, social support, social network, and self-disclosure. The implications of these findings are discussed and directions for further research are briefly outlined.
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Self-concealment significantly correlates with self-report measures of anxiety, depression, and bodily symptoms.
“They found that self-concealment significantly correlated with self-report measures of anxiety, depression, and bodily symptoms.”
From Maladaptive Perfectionism, Disguised Distress, and Help Seeking in the Culture of 'Saving Face': Links to Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms among Asian Youth (2019) · cites this paper as Larson & Chastain, 1990
Self-Concealment and Perfectionistic Self-Presentation were conceptualised based on a predisposition and self-presentation style respectively.
“On the other hand, Self-Concealment and Perfectionistic Self-Presentation were conceptualised based on a predisposition (Larson & Chastain, 1990) and self-presentation style (Hewitt et al., 2003) respectively.”
From Maladaptive Perfectionism, Disguised Distress, and Help Seeking in the Culture of 'Saving Face': Links to Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms among Asian Youth (2019) · cites this paper as Larson & Chastain, 1990
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- Authors
- Larson, D. G., & Chastain, R. L.
- Affiliations
- Santa Clara University (US)
- ORCID
- Larson, Dale G.
- Venue
- Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology
- Publisher
- Guilford Publications
- Published
- 1990-12
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 439-455
- ISSN
- 0736-7236 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2068326018
- Cited by
- 639
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 2.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Scholar Commons (Santa Clara University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Keywords
- self-concealment, self-disclosure, anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, psychological symptoms, trauma, social support, social networks, psychometric properties
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