Development and Validation of the Distress Disclosure Risk Scale: Assessing the Perceived Social and Relational Vulnerabilities in Communicating One’s Troubles

Despite decades of research on distress disclosure, existing scales inadequately capture the multifaceted nature of perceived disclosure risks, particularly in collectivist cultural contexts where concerns extend beyond the individual to family and relational obligations. This research proposes a scale that more fully addresses the social and relational vulnerabilities specific to distress disclosure. Three studies with Chinese adults (n = 1728) were conducted to establish and validate the 16-item multidimensional Distress Disclosure Risk Scale (DDRS-16), comprising three dimensions of perceived risk of distress disclosure: social judgment, disclosure vulnerability, and imposition. Incorporating collectivist values, the DDRS-16 offers a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of distress disclosure overlooked in existing scales developed exclusively from Western samples.