Secrecy in Middle Childhood

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Abstract
We investigated children’s understanding of the nature of secrets as an expression of their knowledge of the intentions of others. The sample of 200 was drawn from 5-, 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-year-old children (40 from each age group), with equal numbers of males and females, and equal numbers from Berlin and Sydney. In structured interviews we tested the children’s understanding of four kinds of secrets: guilty, innocent, dangerous, and embarrassing. Differences across age were found for some secrets (e.g. telling mother guilty and dangerous secrets) but not for others (e.g. telling mother innocent and embarrassing secrets), and for some aspects of understanding mothers’ and friends’ intentions. Some gender and cultural differences were found. Findings are interpreted in terms of children’s understanding of the intentions of others and the emergence of peer solidarity and conscious trust.
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