[2] The effects of keeping a family secret can have positive or negative impacts on individuals involved, although has remained a subject of much debate.
[5] The act of with-holding or differentially sharing information is also linked to the setting of boundaries and alliances which underscore the structures of relational systems.
[10] The primary reason individuals tend to keep family secrets is protection, linked to associated feelings of vulnerability when disclosing private information.
Familial secrets tend to be concerned with facts as opposed to feelings or thoughts as encompassed under "real happenings or incidents.
Various psychological theories have emerged in order to understand the decision-making processes that occur in keeping a secret and their consequences on the individuals involved.
[3] The model suggest that secret keeping tends to encourage psychological distress that becomes cathartic for the secret-keeper when the information has been disclosed.
[3] This model suggests keeping a secret from someone close, such as a family member, cognitive effort must be actively and deliberately exerted in order to avoid accidentally disclosing it.