A systematic review of Personal-Disclosure Mutual-Sharing (PDMS) interventions among sport groups

Personal-Disclosure Mutual-Sharing (PDMS) is a communication-based intervention used for team building. The aim of this study was to systematically review the efficacy of PDMS research conducted among sport groups. Specifically, this review: (a) explored the influence of PDMS on individual and group-level outcomes; (b) evaluated the quality of methods, designs, and measures used to test PDMS interventions; (c) reviewed how PDMS interventions have been developed, implemented, and evaluated in applied practice; and (d) proposed recommendations for future applied practice and research. Published manuscript searches were conducted using four electronic databases before additional published and unpublished manuscript searches were conducted via Google scholar, Open Grey, and email requests to published PDMS authors. Eighteen studies met the eligibility criteria and comprised qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method designs. Although the results indicated Relationship-Orientated PDMS was most used, PDMS types increased various individual (e.g., self-understanding) and group-level outcomes (e.g., social identity). Methodological limitations such as a lack of control measures, and divergent methods of applied practice indicate mixed evidence for the targeted changes being a consequence of PDMS which limits current understanding of the intervention’s efficacy. Consequently, we propose recommendations to reduce internal validity concerns and outline considerations to enhance applied PDMS practice.