Glasnost and the art of conversation - A multilevel analysis of intimate disclosure across three former communist cultures

Despite extensive research in the field of self-disclosure, little is known about the impact of a formerly repressive regime on disclosure or the mann er in which culture, demographic variables, and individual worldviews combi ne to affect disclosure. Building on the previous literature on social pene tration processes and uncertainty reduction, the authors generated nine hyp otheses about the impact of these variables on intimate disclosure. Worldvi ew and disclosure data were collected from 450 participants in three cultur es (Russia, Georgia, and Hungary) and from three occupational groups (manua l workers, business people, and students). Significant effects on disclosur e were found for culture, interaction target, age of respondent, and their level of fatalism, with interaction effects for the topic discussed and the occupation and gender of the respondent. Results are discussed in terms of the development of personal relationships in the emerging economies of Cen tral and Eastern Europe, as well as the context of a wider debate about the contribution of different levels of variables in understanding close perso nal relationships.