138 6 CHAPTER 6 General and specific experiences with the disclosure decision A full overview of the disclosure experiences can be found in Table 4. Of those who had disclosed (N=245), 86.9% (N=213) was (very) positive about their decision. The most often reported reasons for a positive experience were receiving support from a supervisor (90.1%) and the supervisor taking MI seriously (92.5%), indicating the important role of the supervisor. The most reported reasons for a negative experience were stigma related, namely experiencing gossip (81.3%), experiencing discrimination (78.1%), feeling shame (71.9%), and negative career consequences (65.6%). Additionally, the majority of those who had disclosed, in retrospect would have preferred to solve their own problems (84.4%). There was a significant difference between those with a general positive experience and those with a general negative experience for all these specific experiences. For example, those with positive experiences reported significantly more supervisor support (Mpos=3.20, Mneg=1.94, p<.001) compared to those who reported negative experiences with disclosure. Additionally, those with negative experiences reported significantly more shame discrimination (Mpos= 1.70, Mneg=2.84, p<.001) and negative career consequences (Mpos= 1.69, Mneg=2.56, p<.001) compared to those with positive experiences. Of those who had not disclosed (N=78), 84.6% (N=66) was (very) positive about their decision. The most mentioned reasons for a positive experience were the preference to solve one’s own problems (self-management) (89.4%), MI remaining private (80.3%) and the MI not effecting occupational functioning (72.7%). The most mentioned reasons for a negative experience were that participants felt they had missed out on social support from their supervisor (75.0%) and that they had not been able to be their authentic selves (58.3%). Regarding the reported specific experiences, there were no significant differences in reported experiences for those with a general positive experience vs. those with a general negative experience. This is likely caused by the small sample size for those who did not disclose and had a negative experience (N=12).
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