Expectations and Violations of Privacy during Adolescence

This study tested a conceptual model of adolescents' feelings of privacy invasion derived from CPM. Specifically, goals were to describe adolescents' expectations of privacy, to describe how often adolescents are exposed to behaviors that threaten privacy, and to test privacy beliefs, potentially invasive behaviors, and having things to hide as predictors of individual differences in feelings of privacy invasion. Furthermore, each question and hypothesis was examined across four privacy domains and four relationships to determine whether privacy functions similarly or uniquely across domains and relationships. Participants were 118 adolescents (59% female), ranging from age 15 to 18 years of age (M age = 16.4 years, SD = .78). Results indicate that adolescents expect more privacy around their personal information than they expect around domains more aligned with parental monitoring. Sharing personal information elicited the greatest feelings of privacy invasion. The present study found some support the CPM based conceptual model. Adolescents expect information contained within the boundaries to remain private and intrusions into these boundaries elicit feelings of privacy invasion. Additionally, the current study found evidence to support the alternative model that the threat of discovery also elicits feelings of privacy invasion.