Gender-based Differences in the Patterns of Emotional Self-disclosure

The present study aimed at investigating the gender differences in emotional self-disclosure. The sample consisted of 300 university students (with gender equivalence) age ranged from 20-35 years. Emotional Self-disclosure Scale (Snell, 1990) was used to measure the degree of self-disclosure in adults. Results showed significant gender differences in emotional self-disclosure, women disclosed their emotions more to their friends as compared to men. Results subjected to male and female recipients suggested that women disclose their emotional feelings more to their female friends, and men do towards their male friends. The study further found that there are differential tendencies among male and female students in disclosing their different types of emotions to male and female recipients.