What Parents Don ' t Know: Topic Avoidance in Parent-Chi ld Relationships

Abstract

Similarly, a number of theoretical perspectives call for examining how in -\nformat ion is managed so that needs for autonomy and privacy are balanced \nw i t h needs for in t imacy and self-disclosure. Petronio's (1991) Communicat ion Boundary Management Theory, for example, begins w i t h the assumption \nthat people are "faced w i t h paradoxical demands" pul l ing them toward both \nint imacy and autonomy when deciding whether to disclose private informat ion to others (p. 311) . Baxter's Dialectics Theory (1988, 1990, 1991; Baxter & Dindia, 1990; Baxter & Simon, 1993) also rests on the assumption that \npeople simultaneously struggle to achieve opposing goals (e.g., openness and \nclosedness, connectedness and autonomy) w i t h i n the i r relationships, and \nthat this struggle leads to a dialectical tension that must be managed by relat ional partners. Rawlins (1983a, 1983b, 1992) proposed that a s imilar d i -\nalectical tension, labeled expressiveness/protectiveness, characterizes the \npush-and-pull between commun i ca t i on designed to express feelings and \navoidance designed to protect oneself f rom vulnerabil i ty. Finally, A l tman , V in- ing that individuals cycle through varying levels of disclosure throughout relationship trajectories.

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