Date of Award

1-1-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Pavel Shlossberg

Abstract

Power distance is a dynamic that can greatly impact the communication between a child and a parent. Parents instruct their children on what are culturally acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and communication methods. These cultural guidelines for interaction and communication remain with the child until adulthood and have the power to influence the child’s level of disclosure. This study is an investigation of power distance in the parent and adult child relationship and its impact on self-disclosure in the Filipino and Chamorro cultures on Guam. The study’s theoretical framework is based on Mulder’s Power Theory and also applies the relationship development theories of social penetration theory and incremental exchange theory to analyze and explain the data. To gather information, this study used six one-on-one interviews and 41 descriptive surveys to investigate the hypotheses. This research reveals Guam is a high power distance culture and that the perceived power distance negatively influences the self-disclosure of the adult child to the parent. The study also revealed that the extent of self-disclosure is impacted by parental reactions and perceived appropriateness of topics by the adult child. Moreover, the data revealed a new hypothesis that theorized that factors such as gender, age, socioeconomic status, and living arrangements might affect the adult child’s level of disclosure. Further research and additional subjects are needed to test this hypothesis.

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