Does Self-Silencing Link Perceptions of Care from Parents and Partners with Depressive Symptoms?

Abstract

Silencing the self is a theory of women's depression that proposes that depression results from women being inauthentic in key relationships. In this study, we linked this theory to a substantial empirical literature indicating that adult depression is associated both with perceptions that parents were rejecting during childhood, and with perceptions that the current romantic partner is critical. We hypothesized that rejecting childhood relations with parents and/or a romantic relationship with a critical partner might contribute to self-silencing, which, in turn, might lead to heightened vulnerability to depression. This hypothesis was tested in a community sample of 99 women and 47 men who reported being in committed romantic relationships. The results indicated that, among women, only current romantic relationships were associated with self-silencing. Silencing also mediated the association between perceived spousal criticism and depressive symptoms. Women who perceived their partner as critical and intolerant were more likely to present a compliant fagade while feeling angry, which was associated with higher levels of depression. Among men, self-silencing was associated both with perceptions of the father as cold and rejecting, and with perceptions of the romantic partner as critical and intolerant. Furthermore, self-silencing mediated the associations between depressive symptoms and perceptions of the father and of the current romantic partner. Thus, our study supports the hypothesis that self-silencing is associated with the current interpersonal context in particular.