What Are The Factors That Influence Self-disclosure?

The factors that influence self-disclosure are a great many and the magnitude of their impact varies with different people, given the different personalities and preferences that they have.  For instance, if one factor has an instrumental impact on one person, it is not really necessary that the other person feels the same way or is affected the same way by that very factor just as the first person did.  Nevertheless in a general scenario, there are several important factors that more or less have an influence on everyone when it comes to self-disclosure.

Group size: Self-disclosure occurs in small groups more than large groups.  The smaller the group is, the more the probability that the listeners would give the person their undivided attention and the more the chances of creating less havoc.

Liking: People have a strong tendency to disclose to people they like and love and with whom they share a deep bond of trust.

Nature of environment: When a person is involved in self-disclosure, he /she is actually taking a risk of exposing their vulnerable side to the persons they are disclosing to.  An environment, which is more relaxed and less competent, has a greater probability of self-disclosure than highly competent and formal environments.

Other factors that affect self-disclosure include compatibility of age (the closer the age is, the greater the chances), topics (often individuals feel more comfortable in self-disclosure if the topic is of their interest), culture, gender (women are involved in self-disclosure to a greater degree than men).