Descriptions of naturally occurring episodes of self-disclosure were obtained from a sample of thirty-one subjects, all college students, aged 20-23 years. Subjects were asked to describe a recent situation in which they told their best female or male friend something personal about themselves. Content analysis of the episodes revealed that the majority of the self-disclosures involved the subject describing some aspect of his or her relationships with an intimate, a friend or a family member. Although most of the subjects reported that they revealed this information in order to share their feelings with their friend, to release their feelings or to seek advice and reassurance, several subjects described their self-disclosure as an attempt to strengthen and improve their relationship with their friend. Subjects, on the average, reported that their self-disclosure was very helpful in bringing about the kind of relationship that they would ideally like to have with the person with whom they shared their personal information. Subjects also saw the act of self-disclosure as helping them become the kind of person they would like to become.
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