Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-12T09:39:31.917Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - Privacy Invasion and Communication Theories

from Part I - History of the Field and Theoretical Frameworks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  aN Invalid Date NaN

Judith G. Smetana
Affiliation:
University of Rochester, New York
Nicole Campione-Barr
Affiliation:
University of Missouri, Columbia
Lauree C. Tilton-Weaver
Affiliation:
Örebro University
Get access

Summary

This chapter considers parental monitoring behaviors through the lens of Communication Privacy Management theory (CPM; Petronio, 2002). This chapter details the personal, relational, and cultural factors that guide changes in family privacy boundaries during adolescence, drawing parallels with other prominent theories of social development. Youth can interpret both overt (parental solicitation and control) and covert (“snooping”) monitoring as invasive of privacy; these subjective invasion perceptions are intricately associated with adolescent’s attempts to manage their personal information and maintain desired levels of privacy, but prior research is inconsistent regarding the presence, directionality, and valence of effects. Cultural factors can potentially explain this heterogeneity, including independent versus interdependent orientations toward self-construal, horizontal versus vertical orientations toward privacy control, and power distance in family relationships. Future research should examine parental motivations for intrusive monitoring, the accuracy of youth reports about such practices, and how families should handle information uncovered through parental invasions.

Type
Chapter

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altman, I. (1977). Privacy regulation: Culturally universal or culturally specific? The Journal of Social Issues, 33(3), 6684. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1977.tb01883.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branje, S. (2018). Development of parent–adolescent relationships: Conflict interactions as a mechanism of change. Child Development Perspectives, 12(3), 171176. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12278CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridge, M. C., & Schrodt, P. (2013). Privacy orientations as a function of family communication patterns. Communication Reports, 26(1), 112. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2013.773054CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caughlin, J. P., & Petronio, S. (2004). Privacy in families. In Vangelisti, A. L. (Ed.), Handbook of family communication (pp. 379412). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.Google Scholar
Chan, H.-Y., Brown, B. B., & Von Bank, H. (2015). Adolescent disclosure of information about peers: The mediating role of perceptions of parents’ right to know. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(5), 10481065. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0261-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, Y.-K. (2000). Privacy in the family: Its hierarchical and asymmetric nature. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31(1), 117. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.31.1.1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, C. S.-S., Pomerantz, E. M., & Dong, W. (2013). Does adolescents’ disclosure to their parents matter for their academic adjustment? Child Development, 84(2), 693710. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01853.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collins, W. A., Laursen, B., Mortensen, N., Luebker, C., & Ferreira, M. (1997). Conflict processes and transitions in parent and peer relationships: Implications for autonomy and regulation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12(2), 178198. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743554897122003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, W. A., & Luebker, C. (1994). Parent and adolescent expectancies: Individual and relational significance. In Smetana, J. G. (Ed.), Beliefs about parenting: Origins and developmental implications (pp. 6580). Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Cranor, L. F., Durity, A. L., Marsh, A., & Ur, B. (2014). Parents’ and teens’ perspectives on privacy in a technology-filled world [Paper presentation]. Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), Menlo Park, CA.Google Scholar
Daniels, M. A., & Greguras, G. J. (2014). Exploring the nature of power distance. Journal of Management, 40(5), 12021229. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314527131CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darling, N., Cumsille, P., Caldwell, L. L., & Dowdy, B. (2006). Predictors of adolescents’ disclosure to parents and perceived parental knowledge: Between- and within-person differences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(4), 659670. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9058-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darling, N., Cumsille, P., & Martínez, M. L. (2008). Individual differences in adolescents’ beliefs about the legitimacy of parental authority and their own obligation to obey: A longitudinal investigation. Child Development, 79(4), 11031118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01178.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Self-determination theory. In Van Lange, P. A. M., Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (pp. 416436). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446249215.n21CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietvorst, E., Hiemstra, M., Hillegers, M. H. J., & Keijsers, L. (2018). Adolescent perceptions of parental privacy invasion and adolescent secrecy: An illustration of Simpson’s paradox. Child Development, 89(6), 20812090. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Finkenauer, C., Engels, R. C. M. E., & Kubacka, K. E. (2008). Relational implications of secrecy and concealment in parent–adolescent relationships. In Kerr, M., Stattin, H., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (Eds.), New perspectives on parenting (pp. 4264). John Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470774113.ch2Google Scholar
Finkenauer, C., Engels, R. C. M. E., & Meeus, W. (2002). Keeping secrets from parents: Advantages and disadvantages of secrecy in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31(2), 123136. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1014069926507CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkenauer, C., Frijns, T., Engels, R. C. M. E., & Kerkhof, P. (2005). Perceiving concealment in relationships between parents and adolescents: Links with parental behavior. Personal Relationships, 12(3), 387406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2005.00122.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frijns, T., Finkenauer, C., Vermulst, A. A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2005). Keeping secrets from parents: Longitudinal associations of secrecy in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(2), 137148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-3212-zCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frijns, T., Keijsers, L., & Finkenauer, C. (2020). Keeping secrets from parents: On galloping horses, prancing ponies and pink unicorns. Current Opinion in Psychology, 31, 4954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.041CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuligni, A. J., Tseng, V., & Lam, M. (1999). Attitudes toward family obligations among American adolescents with Asian, Latin American, and European backgrounds. Child Development, 70(4), 10301044. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00075CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghazarian, S. R., Supple, A. J., & Plunkett, S. W. (2008). Familism as a predictor of parent–adolescent relationships and developmental outcomes for adolescents in Armenian American immigrant families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17(4), 599613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-007-9177-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghosh, A. K., Badillo-Urquiola, K., Guha, S., LaViolaJr, J. J., & Wisniewski, P. J. (2018, April). Safety vs. surveillance: What children have to say about mobile apps for parental control. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1–14). ACM Digital Library. https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3173574CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammonds, J. R. (2015). A model of privacy control: Examining the criteria that predict emerging adults’ likelihood to reveal private information to their parents. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 79(5), 591613. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2015.1083117CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawk, S. T. (2017). Chinese adolescents’ reports of covert parental monitoring: Comparisons with overt monitoring and links with information management. Journal of Adolescence, 55, 2435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.12.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawk, S. T., Becht, A., & Branje, S. (2016). “Snooping” as a distinct parental monitoring strategy: Comparisons with overt solicitation and control. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 26(3), 443458. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12204CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawk, S. T., Hale, W. W., Raaijmakers, Q. A. W., & Meeus, W. (2008). Adolescents’ perceptions of privacy invasion in reaction to parental solicitation and control. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 28(4), 583608. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431608317611CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawk, S. T., Keijsers, L., Frijns, T., Hale, W. W. III, Branje, S., & Meeus, W. (2013). “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”: Parental privacy invasion predicts reduced parental knowledge. Developmental Psychology, 49(7), 12861298. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029484CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawk, S. T., Keijsers, L., Hale, W. W. III, & Meeus, W. (2009). Mind your own business! Longitudinal relations between perceived privacy invasion and adolescent–parent conflict. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(4), 511520. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015426CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values (Vol. 5). Sage.Google Scholar
Keijsers, L., Branje, S. J. T., VanderValk, I. E., & Meeus, W. (2010). Reciprocal effects between parental solicitation, parental control, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent delinquency. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(1), 88113. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00631.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keijsers, L., & Laird, R. D. (2014). Mother–adolescent monitoring dynamics and the legitimacy of parental authority. Journal of Adolescence, 37(5), 515524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.04.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keijsers, L., & Poulin, F. (2013). Developmental changes in parent–child communication throughout adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 49(12), 23012308. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032217CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelly, L., Duran, R. L., & Miller-Ott, A. E. (2017). Helicopter parenting and cell-phone contact between parents and children in college. Southern Communication Journal, 82(2), 102114. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2017.1310286CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy-Lightsey, C. D., & Frisby, B. N. (2016). Parental privacy invasion, family communication patterns, and perceived ownership of private information. Communication Reports, 29(2), 7586. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2015.1048477CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkman, B. L., Chen, G., Farh, J.-L., Chen, Z. X., & Lowe, K. B. (2009). Individual power distance orientation and follower reactions to transformational leaders: A cross-level, cross-cultural examination. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 744764. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.43669971CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitayama, S., & Cohen, D. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of cultural psychology (Vol. 894). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Koepke, S., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2012). Dynamics of identity development and separation–individuation in parent–child relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood: A conceptual integration. Developmental Review, 32(1), 6788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2012.01.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koerner, A. F., & Fitzpatrick, M. A. (2002a). Understanding family communication patterns and family functioning: The roles of conversation orientation and conformity orientation. Annals of the International Communication Association, 26(1), 3665. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2002.11679010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koerner, A. F., & Fitzpatrick, M. A. (2002b). Toward a theory of family communication. Communication Theory, 12(1), 7091. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2002.tb00260.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koerner, A. F., & Schrodt, P. (2014). An introduction to the special issue on family communication patterns theory. Journal of Family Communication, 14(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2013.857328CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laird, R. D., Marrero, M. D., Melching, J. A., & Kuhn, E. S. (2013a). Information management strategies in early adolescence: Developmental change in use and transactional associations with psychological adjustmentDevelopmental Psychology, 49(5), 928937. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028845CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laird, R. D., Marrero, M. D., Melching, J., & Kuhn, E. S. (2013b). Brief report: Improving the validity of assessments of adolescents’ feelings of privacy invasion. Journal of Adolescence, 36(1), 227231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.10.011CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lansford, J. E., Godwin, J., Alampay, L. P., Uribe Tirado, L. M., Zelli, A., Al-Hassan, S. M., … Tapanya, S. (2016). Mothers’, fathers’ and children’s perceptions of parents’ expectations about children’s family obligations in nine countries. International Journal of Psychology: Journal International de Psychologie, 51(5), 366374. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12185CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ledbetter, A. M. (2019). Parent–child privacy boundary conflict patterns during the first year of college: Mediating family communication patterns, predicting psychosocial distress. Human Communication Research, 45(3), 255285. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqy018CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ledbetter, A. M., Heiss, S., Sibal, K., Lev, E., Battle-Fisher, M., & Shubert, N. (2010). Parental invasive and children’s defensive behaviors at home and away at college: Mediated communication and privacy boundary management. Communication Studies, 61(2), 184204. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510971003603960CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ledbetter, A. M., & Vik, T. A. (2012). Parental invasive behaviors and emerging adults’ privacy defenses: Instrument development and validation. Journal of Family Communication, 12(3), 227247. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2012.686943CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Y.-L. (2020). Maternal mediation as an act of privacy invasion: The association with internet addiction. Computers in Human Behavior, 112, 106474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106474CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Z., & Wang, X. (2018). How to regulate individuals’ privacy boundaries on social network sites: A cross-cultural comparison. Information & Management, 55(8), 10051023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2018.05.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.98.2.224CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2010). Cultures and selves: A cycle of mutual constitution. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(4), 420430. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610375557CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morr Serewicz, M. C., Dickson, F. C., Huynh Thi Anh Morrison, J., & Poole, L. L. (2007). Family privacy orientation, relational maintenance, and family satisfaction in young adults’ family relationships. Journal of Family Communication, 7(2), 123142. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267430701221578CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newell, P. B. (1994). A systems model of privacy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 14(1), 6578. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80199-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newell, P. B. (1995). Perspectives on privacyJournal of Environmental Psychology, 15(2), 87104. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-4944(95)90018-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newell, P. B. (1998). A cross-cultural comparison of privacy definitions and functions: A systems approach. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18(4), 357371. https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.1998.0103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedersen, D. M. (1997). Psychological functions of privacy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17(2), 147156. https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.1997.0049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedersen, D. M. (1999). Model for types of privacy by privacy functions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 19(4), 397405. https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.1999.0140CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, S., Hawk, S. T., & Wang, Y. (2023). Perceptions of parental privacy invasion and information management among Chinese adolescents: Comparing between- and within-family associations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52(6), 12871300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01771-0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petronio, S. (1994). Privacy binds in family interactions: The case of parental privacy invasion. In Cupach, W. R. & Spitzberg, B. H. (Eds.), The dark side of interpersonal communication (pp. 241257). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petronio, S. (2002). Boundaries of privacy: Dialectics of disclosure. State University of New York Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petronio, S. (2010). Communication privacy management theory: What do we know about family privacy regulation? Journal of Family Theory & Review, 2(3), 175196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-2589.2010.00052.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petronio, S., & Caughlin, J. P. (2006). Communication privacy management theory: Understanding families. In Braithwaite, D. O. & Baxter, L. A. (Eds.), Engaging theories in family communication: Multiple perspectives (pp. 3549). Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452204420.n3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petronio, S., & Child, J. T. (2020). Conceptualization and operationalization: Utility of communication privacy management theory. Current Opinion in Psychology, 31, 7682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.08.009CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pomerantz, E. M., Qin, L., Wang, Q., & Chen, H. (2009). American and Chinese early adolescents’ inclusion of their relationships with their parents in their self-construals. Child Development, 80(3), 792807. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01298.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Qin, L., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2013). Reciprocal pathways between American and Chinese early adolescents’ sense of responsibility and disclosure to parents. Child Development, 84(6), 18871895. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12088CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rote, W. M., & Smetana, J. G. (2016). Beliefs about parents’ right to know: Domain differences and associations with change in concealment. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 26(2), 334344. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12194CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rote, W. M., & Smetana, J. G. (2018). Within-family dyadic patterns of parental monitoring and adolescent information management. Developmental Psychology, 54(12), 23022315. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000615CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schrodt, P., Witt, P. L., & Messersmith, A. S. (2008). A meta-analytical review of family communication patterns and their associations with information processing, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes. Communication Monographs, 75(3), 248269. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637750802256318CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shavitt, S., Lalwani, A. K., Zhang, J., & Torelli, C. J. (2006). The horizontal/vertical distinction in cross‐cultural consumer research. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16(4), 325342. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1604_3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smetana, J. G. (2018). The development of autonomy during adolescence: A social-cognitive domain theory view. In Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Van Petegem, S. (Eds.), Autonomy in adolescent development: Toward conceptual clarity (pp. 5373). Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Smetana, J. G., Metzger, A., Gettman, D. C., & Campione-Barr, N. (2006). Disclosure and secrecy in adolescent–parent relationships. Child Development, 77(1), 201217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00865.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Son, D., & Padilla-Walker, L. M. (2022). Longitudinal associations among perceived intrusive parental monitoring, adolescent internalization of values, and adolescent information management. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 31, 4860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02114-yCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 71(4), 10721085. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00210CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tang, S., & Dong, X. (2006). Parents’ and children’s perceptions of privacy rights in China: A cohort comparison. Journal of Family Issues, 27(3), 285300. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X05283095CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tasopoulos-Chan, M., Smetana, J. G., & Yau, J. P. (2009). How much do I tell thee? Strategies for managing information to parents among American adolescents from Chinese, Mexican, and European backgrounds. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(3), 364374. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015816CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Triandis, H. C., & Gelfand, M. J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118128. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Giessen, D., Hollenstein, T., Hale, W. W., Koot, H. M., Meeus, W., & Branje, S. (2015). Emotional variability in mother-adolescent conflict interactions and internalizing problems of mothers and adolescents: Dyadic and individual processes. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(2), 339353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9910-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Westin, A. F. (1967). Privacy and freedom. Atheneum.Google Scholar
Yau, J., & Smetana, J. G. (1996). Adolescent–parent conflict among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Child Development, 67(3), 12621275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01794.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yau, J. P., Tasopoulos-Chan, M., & Smetana, J. G. (2009). Disclosure to parents about everyday activities among American adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Child Development, 80(5), 14811498. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01346.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×