Children's Privacy in the Home

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Abstract
Developmental and ecological determinants of children's use of privacy markers (such as closed doors) and rules (such as knocking and access limitations) in the home environment were investigated. Children's chronological age was consistently related to increases in privacy, though physical maturity accounted for a large portion of the age trends. Both age and sex effects were modified by situational factors such as the nature of the personal activity being engaged in and the sex of the parent or sibling seeking access to the area. Other modifying variables included the size of the home (less privacy is afforded children in smaller homes with fewer facilities); family density (higher levels of privacy are associated with high- and low-density homes and less privacy use was found in moderately dense homes); and, finally, mother's child-rearing practices (such as restrictive, coercive mothers exercise more control over children's privacy habits. The implications for the development of privacy behavior, as well as the modifying impact of ecological and contextual factors on the development of children's social behavior, were discussed.

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