Daily Associations Between Perceived Maternal Privacy Invasion and Youth Information Management: How Do Cultural Factors Matter?
Dan Gao, Yue Wang, Skyler T. HawkABSTRACT
Introduction
Perceptions of parental privacy invasion can predict increased youth concealment across monthly and yearly timescales. However, daily associations between parental privacy invasion and youth information management may differ from patterns widely examined at broader measurement intervals, with cultural values potentially shaping these associations. This daily diary study examined whether Chinese youths' perceptions of maternal privacy invasion were associated with their concealment and disclosure to their mothers, and whether youths' cultural values moderated these associations.
Methods
These issues were examined in a month‐long daily diary study with 146 Chinese youth ( n = 2851 observations, M T1age = 18.74, SD T1age = 0.58, 44.5% male).
Results
Dynamic structural equation modeling indicated that youth reported greater secrecy on days when they perceived higher‐than‐usual maternal privacy invasion. Higher‐than‐usual youth disclosure predicted increased privacy invasion the following day. Cross‐level interaction analyses showed that stronger family obligation attenuated the positive same‐day association from perceived privacy invasion to youths' concealment.
Conclusions
These findings suggest a potential day‐to‐day feedback loop in youth–parent privacy boundary negotiations, and family obligation values specific to current assistance to family might shape youths' responses to privacy invasion with less concealment. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings for youth information management behaviors in daily life.