CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The present study aims to find out the relationship of of self-silencing to trust,

depression and perfectionism. Silence has been now pervasive theme in the study of girls

and women in multiple disciplines. In area of Psychology Jack (1991) proposed a

silencing the self theory" (STST) to account for women higher rates of depression as

compare to men. Since then many studies have been conducted to study self-silencing

with the number of variables across sub-disciplines within psychology. Jack's model of

self-silencing proposes set of cognitive schemata and behaviour which depicts women's

experience in romantic (heterosexual) relationship. Women's are under strong pressure to

conform to societal norms and feminine ideals prescribing silence. In confirming to these

roles women actively suppress their own thoughts and feelings if these are in conflict

with their romantic partners. This purpose of devaluation and inhibition of one's own

feelings and opinions results in a fall self-esteem & feelings of " loss of self" ( Jack &

Dill, 1992) thus heightening women's to depression.

Silencing the self scale developed by Jack & Dill (1992) depicted that silencing the

self is characterized by suppressing feelings (Silence), judging the self by external

standards (External), attempting to secure attachments by putting the needs of others

before the self (care), & presenting and outer complain self at all costs. ( Divided).

Silence what is not voiced or heard is an integral part of discourse and social

interaction. The ambiguous nature of silence leads itself to multiplicity of interpretations,

ranging from an understanding of silence as active listening, consent or reflection, to

CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 2

silence as a resistance, in action or oppression. Feminist psychologist have offered a

number of conceptualization and models of silence among women over the past decades

(Baker, 2006; Belenky, Clinchy, Goldeberg, Traule, 1986; Brown & Gilligin, 1992;

Chodrow, 1978; Fiversh, 2002; Gilligan,1982; Jack,1991). Throughout this literature

silence refers to the lack and loss of voice. Voice & silence reflects dynamic and rational

process emerging from one's place ( positioning in a particular time and place)and power

(Belenky et al, 1986; Fiversh,2002)

Perfectionism is usually considered as propensity for being displeased with anything

that is not perfect and does not meet extremely high standards. A perfectionist has focus

on the attainment of high standards. Research with Multidimensional perfectionism Scale

( MPS; Hewitt & Flett,1991) has focused on three dimensions:

(i) self-oriented perfectionism ( i.e exceedingly high personal standards), (ii)

other-oriented perfectionism ( i.e demanding perfection from others ), & (iii) socially

prescribed perfectionism ( i.e a pressure to be perfect imposed on the self).

Socially prescribed perfectionism has shown a consistent association with depression (see

Flett & Hewitt, 2002; Flett, Besser & Hewitt, 2005).

Trust is a critical social process that helps us to co-operate with others and is present

to some degree in all human interaction. Trust is viewed in various ways but most

prominently divided into different categories of general trust (anyone) or interpersonal

trust (close relationships.). According to Couch, Adams and Jones( 1996) trust is

primarily looked at as trust towards people in everyday situations, and trust involves in

intentional relationships.

Depression is a sad state in which life seems dark & its events as overwhelming, it
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 3

could be defined as; "A low sad state marked by significant levels of sadness, lack of

energy, low self-worth, guilt & related symptoms". The variable of depression has been

studied extensively in psychology. Perfectionism, dependency, self-criticism,

self-disclosure, trust and a number of other variables are studied with depression women's

rate of depression are two times higher than those of men in most industrialized countries

(Nolen-Hoaksema,1990).

Theoratical Framework

Multidimensional Perfectionism Model

According to Hewitt and Flett’s (1991) influential model of perfectionism, two main

forms of perfectionism need to be differentiated: self-oriented perfectionism and

socially-prescribed perfectionism.1 Self-oriented perfectionism comprises beliefs that

striving for perfection and being perfect are important and is characterized by setting

excessively high standards and having a “perfectionist motivation” for oneself. In contrast,

socially prescribed perfectionism comprises beliefs that others have high standards for

oneself and that acceptance by others is conditional on fulfilling these standards (Enns &

Cox, 2002; Hewitt & Flett, 1991, 2004). Thus, self-oriented perfectionism is an internally

motivated form of perfectionism whereas socially prescribed perfectionism is an

externally motivated form.

Theories of Depression

According to Freud, the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind can come

into conflict with one another, producing a phenomena called repression (a state where

you are unaware of having certain troubling motives, wishes or desires but they influence

you negatively just the same). In general, psychodynamic theories suggest that a person
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 4

must successfully resolve early developmental conflicts (e.g., gaining trust, affection,

successful interpersonal relationships, mastering body functions, etc.). in order to

overcome repression and achieve mental health. Mental illness, on the other hand, is a

failure to resolve these conflicts.

There are multiple explanations that fall under the psychodynamic "umbrella" that

explain why a person develops depressive symptoms. Psychoanalysts historically

believed that depression was caused by anger converted into self-hatred ("anger turned

inward"). A typical scenario regarding how this transformation was thought to play out

may be helpful is further explaining this theory. Neurotic parents who are inconsistent

(both overindulgent and demanding), lacking in warmth, inconsiderate, angry, or driven

by their own selfish needs create a unpredictable, hostile world for a child. As a result, the

child feels alone, confused, helpless and ultimately, angry. However, the child also knows

that the powerful parents are his or her only means of survival. So, out of fear, love, and

guilt, the child represses anger toward the parents and turns it inwards so that it becomes

an anger directed towards him or herself. A "despised" self-concept starts to form, and the

child finds it comfortable to think thoughts along the lines of "I am an unlovable and bad

person." At the same time, the child also strives to present a perfect, idealized (and

therefore acceptable) facade to the parents as a means of compensating for perceived

weaknesses that make him or her "unacceptable". Caught between the belief that he or

she is unacceptable, and the imperative to act perfectly to obtain parental love, the child

becomes "neurotic" or prone to experiencing exaggerated anxiety and/or depression

feelings. The child also feels a perpetual sense that he or she is not good enough, no

matter how hard he or she tries.

CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 5

Under the behaviorist perspective, Lewinsohn (1974) explains how negative

behaviour such as depression is learnt, which also means that they can be unlearnt. People

can become depressed due to a lack of positive reinforcement for their behaviour and

actions and this depression can be prolonged through positive reinforcement such as

sympathy and attention for depressive behaviour. Psychologists will treat depression with

behavioral therapy aiming to teach patients new skills to avoid depression instead of

looking at factors that causes it. However due to recent research showing how internal

events such as perceptions, expectations, and attitudes do effect behaviour and are

important to take into account in therapy, these behavioral techniques have decreased in

popularity in recent years.

According to Dr. Aaron Beck, negative thoughts, generated by dysfunctional beliefs

are typically the primary cause of depressive symptoms. A direct relationship occurs

between the amount and severity of someone's negative thoughts and the severity of their

depressive symptoms. In other words, the more negative thoughts you experience, the

more depressed you will become.

Beck also asserts that there are three main dysfunctional belief themes (or "schemas")

that dominate depressed people's thinking: 1) I am defective or inadequate, 2) All of my

experiences result in defeats or failures, and 3) The future is hopeless. Together, these

three themes are described as the Negative Cognitive Triad. When these beliefs are

present in someone's cognition, depression is very likely to occur.

Dr. Albert Ellis pointed out that depressed people's irrational beliefs tend to take the

form of absolute statements. Ellis describes three main irrational beliefs typical of

depressive thinking:
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1 "I must be completely competent in everything I do, or I am worthless."

2 "Others must treat me considerately, or they are absolutely terrible."

3 "The world should always give me happiness, or I will die."

Because of these sorts of beliefs, depressed people make unqualified demands on others

and/or convince themselves that they have overwhelming needs that must (simply must!)

be fulfilled. Ellis, well known for his rather acid wit, referred to this tendency towards

absolutism in depressive thinking as "Musterbation."

Ellis also noted the presence of information processing biases in depressed people's

cognitions. Like Beck he noted that depressed people tend to: ignore positive information,

pay exaggerated attention to negative information, and to engage in overgeneralization,

which occurs when people assume that because some local and isolated event has turned

out badly, that this means that all events will turn out badly. For example, depressed

people may refuse to see that they have at least a few friends, or that they have had some

successes across their lifetime (ignoring the positive). Or, they might dwell on and blow

out of proportion the hurts they have suffered (exaggerating the negative). Other

depressed people may convince themselves that nobody loves them or that they always

mess up (overgeneralizing). Ellis' ideas led him to develop Rational Emotive Therapy

(RET), which was later renamed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).

Psychologist Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive learning theory suggested that people

are shaped by the interactions between their behaviors, thoughts, and environmental

events. Each piece in the puzzle can and does affect the shape of the other pieces. Human

behavior ends up being largely a product of learning, which may occur vicariously (e.g.,

by way of observation), as well as through direct experience.

CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 7

Bandura pointed out that depressed people's self-concepts are different from

non-depressed people's self-concepts. Depressed people tend to hold themselves solely

responsible for bad things in their lives and are full of self-recrimination and self-blame.

In contrast, successes tend to get viewed as having been caused by external factors

outside of the depressed person's control. In addition, depressed people tend to have low

levels of self-efficacy (a person's belief that they are capable of influencing their

situation). Because depressed people also have a flawed judgmental process, they tend to

set their personal goals too high, and then fall short of reaching them. Repeated failure

further reduces feelings of self-efficacy and leads to depression.

An important psychological concept, which is closely related to Bandura's

self-efficacy idea, is Julian Rotter's concept of locus of control. When people believe that

they can affect and alter their situations, they may be said to have an internal locus of

control and a relatively high sense of self-efficacy. When individuals feel that they are

mostly at the mercy of the environment and cannot alter their situation, they have a

external locus of control, and a relatively low sense of self-efficacy. To extend the above

explanation, depressed people tend to have a external locus of control and a low sense of

self-esteem.

In early 1965, psychologist Martin Seligman and his colleagues" accidentally"

discovered an unexpected phenomenon related to human depression while studying the

relationship between fear and learning in dogs. Seligman's study involved watching what

happened when a dog was allowed to escape an impending (and aversive but

non-damaging) shock so long as they escaped from a designated area of their enclosure

upon hearing a tone. During the first experiment, the researcher rang a bell immediately
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 8

prior to administering a brief slightly unpleasant sensation to the dog. The idea was that

the dog would learn to associate the tone with the shock. In the future, the dog would then

feel fear when it heard the bell, and would run away or show some other fear-related

behavior upon hearing the tone.

During the next part of the experiments, the researchers put the conditioned dog

(which had just learned that hearing the tone is a warning for an upcoming shock) into a

box with two compartments divided by a low fence. Even though the dog could easily see

over and jump over the fence, when the researchers rang the bell and administered the

shock, nothing happened (the dog was expected to jump over the fence.) Similarly, when

they shocked the conditioned dog without the bell, nothing happened. In both situations,

the dog simply lay down. Interestingly, when the researchers put a normal dog into the

same box contraption, it immediately jumped over the fence to the other side.

Apparently, the conditioned dog had learned more than the connection between the

tone and the shock. It has also learned that trying to escape from the shocks was futile. In

other words, the dog learned to be "helpless." This research formed Seligman's

subsequent theory of Learned Helplessness, which was then extended to human behavior

as a model for explaining depression. According to Seligman, depressed people have

learned to be helpless. In other words, depressed people feel that whatever they do will be

futile, and that they have no control over their environments.

Theories of Self-Silencing

The most influential model on the development of women's voice & silence dates

back to Gilligan's work in 1982. According to Gilligan, the suppression or loss of voice

among women starts in adolescence.During this developmental stage,girls begins to

CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 9

identify with & internalize the prevalent gender roles & cultural stereotypes of the good

women that often dictate being " nice, polite, pleasing to others, unassertive & quiet "

( Harter,1999). In addition, Gilligan emphasize the importance of connectedness & the

central role of relationships in female development ( Belenky et. al., 1986; Chodrow,

1989; Gilligan, 1982). According to this model, differential gender socialization patterns

within North American contexts lead males to be more separate, autonomous &

independent & females to be more related &interdependent. More recent research within

the field of psychology has indeed provided support for this argument (Cross & Madson,

1997; Josephs, Markus & Tafarodi, 1992; Oyserman & Markus, 1993). In Gilligan's

formulation, it is devaluation of the related self in a predominately independence oriented

setting which considers separation and autonomy as the benchmark of adult development,

couple with adolescence girl's adherence to cultural feminine stereotypes, that leads to the

suppression and silencing of their voices. Gilligan notes that as a result of such silence &

suppression, girls comes to dissociates from their actual experiences & true selves, hence

the loss of voice that emerges in early adolescent leads to a lose of self over time.

Silencing the Self Theory

Silencing the self theory was presented by Dana C. Jack (1991) in collaboration with

Alisha Ali. STS theory is based on a longitudinal study of clinically depressed women's

descriptions of their experiences including their understanding of what led up to their

depression. The women detailed how they began to silence or suppress certain thoughts,

feelings & actions that they thought world contradict their partners' wishes. They did so

to avoid conflict, to maintain a relationship, and to ensure their psychological or physical

safety. They described how silencing their voices led to a loss of self and a sense of being
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 10

lost in their lives. They also conveyed their shame, desperation and anger over feelings of

entrapment and self-betrayal. Though this process feels personal to each women, it is in

face deeply cultural. A male-centered world tells women who they are or who they should

be, especially in intimate relationships. Self -silencing is prescribed by norms, values &

images dictating that women are " supposed" to be like pleasing, unselfish, loving. As

Dana Jack listened to the inner dialogues of depressed women, she heard self-monitoring

and negative self-evaluation in arguments between the " I " ( a voice of self) and the over

eye (the cultural, moralistic voice that condemns the self for departing from culturally

prescribed " Shoulds"). The imperatives of over-eye regarding women's goodness are

strengthened by the social reality of women's subordination- the experience of being a

target of male violence and the difficulties of financial dependence and poverty. Women's

inner arguments about how they should act and feel revealed a divided self that results

from self-silencing in an attempt to preserve relationships. Inwardly, they experienced

anger & confusion while outwardly presenting a pleasing, complaint self trying to live up

to cultural standard of a good women in the midst of fraying relationships, violence and

lives they were falling apart.

As jack followed negative self evaluation ( words like " no good" or " worthless" ) in

their narratives,it becomes clear that women's self-judgment and behaviour were guided

by specific beliefs about how they should act and feel in relationships. When followed,

these self-silencing relational schemes create vulnerability to depression by directing

women to defer to the needs of others, censor self-expression, repressed anger,inhibit self

directed action & judge the self against a culturally defined "good woman".

Jack and Dill develop " silencing the self scale" in 1992 to measure self-silencing. It is
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 11

a five points likest type scale consists of 31 items. Four rationally derived subscales

measure the rational schemes central to self-silencing, and each is understood as an

interrelated component of the overall construct. These subscales considered to reflect

both phenomenological and behavioral aspects of self-silencing:

1- Externalized self-perception assesses schema regarding standards for self judgment

and includes the extinct to which a person judges the self through external standards.

2- Care as self-sacrifice measures the extent to which relationships are secured by putting

the needs of others ahead of the needs of the self.

3- Silencing the self assesses the tendency to inhibit self expression and action in order to

secure relationships and to avoid retaliation, possible loss or conflict.

4- Divided self measures the extent to which a person feels a division between an outer "

false" self and inner self resulting from hiding certain feelings and thoughts in an

important relationships.

Conceptualization of Trust:

Historically, there have been two main approaches to conceptualizing interpersonal

trust. The earliest work adopted a dispositional (person-centered) view. According to this

perspective, trust entails general beliefs and attitudes about the degree to which other

people are likely to be reliable, cooperative, or helpful in experimental game situations

(Deutsch, 1973) or in daily-life contexts (Rotter, 1971). Beginning in the early 1980s,

conceptualizations and measures of trust started to focus on specific partners and

relationships (Holmes & Rempel, 1989; Rempel et al., 1985). According to the dyadic

(interpersonal) perspective, trust is a psychological state or orientation of an actor (the

truster) toward a specific partner (the trustee) with whom the actor is in some way
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 12

interdependent (that is, the truster needs the trustee’s cooperation to attain valued

outcomes or resources). What makes trust particularly difficult to study is that it involves

three components (e.g., ‘‘I trust you to do X’’; Hardin, 2003). Thus, trust is a function of

properties of the self (I), the specific partner (you), and the specific goal in a current

situation (to do X).

Kramer and Carnevale (2001) argue that trust involves a set of beliefs and

expectations that a partner’s actions will be beneficial to one’s long-term self-interest,

especially in situations in which the partner must be counted on to provide unique

benefits or valuable outcomes. Trust-relevant situations typically activate two cognitive

processes: (a) feelings of vulnerability; and (b) expectations of how the partner is likely to

behave across time, particularly in strain-test situations. When the partner promotes

the individual’s best interests rather than his or her own, both parties should experience

heightened trust. Trust is also likely to be higher in a relationship when (a) each

member’s self-interested outcomes match those that are best for their partner or the

relationship, or (b) both members believe that their partner will act on what is best for the

relationship even when the members’ personal self-interests diverge.

Literature Review

This section will review the researches conducted on depression, perfectionism and

trust as a result of self-silencing in women. The initial study of perfectionism and

self-silencing was conducted by Geller, Cockell, Hewitt, Goldner and Flett (2000). They

administrated the Multidimensional perfectionism scale and the silencing the self scale

(STSS) to 21 anorexic patients, 21 women with other psychiatric disorders and 21 normal

control participants. Geller and colleagues (2000) examined the correlations for the total
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 13

sample by collapsing across the groups. These analysis showed that both self-oriented

and socially prescribed perfectionism were associated robustly will all STSS measures

(r's ranging from .55 to .77).

A link between perfectionism & self-silencing follows from Jack's (1999 a )

observation that standards used for self evaluation are central to understanding of self-

silencing behavior. Jack suggested that a sense of inferiority and self-reproach stems from

the idealistic standards that self-silencer uses to judge the self . The standards themselves

have a social aspect because they reflect social dictates & a sense a being obliged to art in

a socially approved manners and to achieve prescribed goals. Unfortunately, for

self-silencing individuals, this focus on ideals & being perfect as the accepted standards

should make them susceptible to dysphoria when they perceive a substantial gap between

the actual self & the goal of being perfect. Jack (1999 a) provided a series of compelling

case examples of distressed people who clearly exhibited perfectionistic characteristics

and who engaged in self-silencing.. These people appear to suffer from the "tyranny of

shoulds" described by Horney (1950) and Ellis (2002), & they seem to be characterized

jointly by elements of both socially prescribed perfectionism and self-oriented

perfectionism.

The association between perfectionism and silencing the self in college students

were explored by Flett, Besser, Hewitt and Davis (2007). A sample of 202 university

students completed the MPS (Hewitt & Flett, 1991, 2004), the STSS, Radloff's (1977)

CES-D scale. The result showed that self-oriented perfectionism was not associated

significantly with overall scale scores, but there was a significant association between

self-oriented perfectionism and the silencing the self subscales. The main finding that
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 14

emerges was that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated significantly with the

overall scale score ( r = .32) and with all four STSS subscales with correlates ranging

from .19 to .42. It was also found that depression was high among socially prescribed

perfectionists who were also high on self-silencing.

A small but still significant association was also found between silencing the self and

high parental perfectionism. Fear of making mistakes a characteristics of perfectionist ,

suggests that for some people, their self-silencing is motivated by the desire to avoid

making mistakes and the consequences of these mistakes. The nature of these

consequences can vary substantially as a function of individual's interpersonal context.

The research assessing battered women included in research by Jack and Dill (1992)

shows that these women were exceptionally high on silencing the self. Undoubtedly their

focus would be on fears about making mistakes ( or being perceived as making a mistake)

that would then provide a misguided, self-striving rational for their abusive partner to

engage in further mistreatment. The current findings derived from a sample of university

students indicate that they have experienced maltreatment during childhood, and this

accounts, in part, for obtained association. However, other students have not been

maltreated but still a link has been found between silencing the self and concern over

making mistakes and great sensitivity to failure feedbacks and self-esteem implications

for being imperfect.

Silencing the self theory (Jack 1991) holds that women's depression is closely related to

experiences in close relationships, especially if women conform with societal norms for

feminine relationship roles. In conforming, Jack believes that women develop

relationship schema that heighten vulnerability to loss of self -esteem and depressive
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 15

symptomatology.

The research on silencing the self and depression in romantic relationships by

Thompson, Whiffers and Aube (2001) found that self-silencing was associated with

perceiving the partner as critical and intolerant, & both of these factors were associated

with greater depression. Another highly relevant perspective for understanding depression

involves individual differences in self-silencing. Jack (1991) proposed the construct of

self-silencing to account for the preponderance of depression among females. However,

subsequent research has shown that self-silencing is relevant both for males and females

(Thompson.1995). People high in self-silencing are sacrificing individuals who keep their

distress to themselves in an attempt to maintain or improve interpersonal relationships.

Their distress often take the form of unexpressed anger (see Jack, 1999 b, 2001).

The notion that self-silencing is a mediator of the link between socially prescribed

perfectionism and depression is in keeping with coping models which suggest that a

maladaptive response to stress mediates (specify how or why particular relationship or

effect occurs) or moderates ( change the strength of effect or relationship between two

variables) the link between perfectionism and depression (see Hewitt & Flett, 2002). In

the present instance, the tendency for socially prescribed perfectionists to be high in

self-silencing would constitute an ineffective way of responding to interpersonal conflict

and stress and this tendency to silence the self could, in turn, contribute to depression. A

mediational model is also suggested to the extent that self-silencing does indeed involve a

loss of sense of self & a negative self-view ; other research has indicated that diminished

self-esteem & lack of unconditioned self-acceptance mediates the link between

perfectionism and depression (Flett et al ; 2003; Rice, Ashby & Slaney, 1998). Thus
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 16

shows possible mediating role of self-silencing.

No research has done on trust and self-silencing. However Uysal, Lin and Bush

(2012) research on trust on romantic relationships and self-concealment ( intentionally

hiding of one's feelings, thoughts and emotions) suggest that self concealment in romantic

relationships can create a reciprocal cycle of that involves loss of trust & more self

concealment between partners, which would slowly deteriorate the relationship well

being. The aim of present study is to investigate the relationship between self-silencing &

trust among married and unmarried females.

Rational of the Study:

The study aims to find out the relationship between self-silencing and perfectionism,

self-silencing and trust and self silencing and depression in context of our own cultural

predominant beliefs and values. The researches on self-silencing, perfectionism &

depression has been conducted but no research has conducted on self-silencing & trust in

interpersonal relationships, to my knowledge. Our cultural & religion beliefs for gender

roles and specially female role are quite different from that of western culture, it raises

the need to study the relationships of these variables in our cultural context so that

resulted findings & implications could be applied on our people.

Objectives of the Study:

The present study aims to fulfill the following objectives:

* To find out self-silencing & perfectionism in women

* To explore relationship between self-silencing & depression in women.

* To investigate the impart of self-silencing on trust in interpersonal relationship.

CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 17

Hypotheses:

Following hypotheses will be tested in our study:

H1 : Self-silencing is positively related to perfectionism.

H2: Increase in self silencing is related to increase in depression.

H3: There is a positive relationship between self-silencing & trust in interpersonal

relationships.

H4: There is a difference between married & unmarried females in perfectionism,

depression, trust & self-silencing.

H5: Married women tend to have high scares on socially prescribed perfectionism while

unmarried females scares high on self-oriented perfectionism.

H6: Married women tends to be more depressed and use more self silencing as compare to

unmarried women.
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 18

CHAPTER 2

METHODOLOGY

Research Design:

The design of the study will be survey research design.

Sample:

Non-probability convenience sampling will be used for the study. The sample of the

study will be consists of 300 females (150 married females and 150 unmarried females).

The sample will be drawn from different areas of Gujranwala city.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:

All those females (married and unmarried females) who are 20 to 35 years old

included in the study. Females who are qualified up to intermediate, bachelor, masters and

above are also included in the study.

Operational Definitions of Variables:

The operational definition of variables used in the study are given below:

Perfectionism: Perfectionism involves focus on the attainment of high standards. It has

three dimensions: self oriented (i.e., high personal standards that are excessive), others

oriented (i.e., demanding excessive perfectionism from others) and socially prescribed

perfectionism(i.e., pressure to be perfect as a result of excessive social demands) as

measured by Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett,1991).

Generally, having high self-oriented perfectionism is associated with greater productivity,

success in career, and conscientiousness. Having high other-oriented perfectionism may

lead to problems delegating to others, being seen by others as highly critical/judgmental.

Having high socially prescribed perfectionism is associated with greater risk of anxiety,
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 19

depression and even suicide risk if the person experiences a major setback (perceives

others are disappointed/highly critical of their abilities) and is unable to put the criticism

in perspective.

Depression: It is a low sad state of inactivity, feelings of worthlessness, disengagement

and disinterest as measures by Beck Depression Inventory. The highest possible total for

the whole test would be sixty-three (extreme depression) and the lowest possible score for

the test would be zero (considered normal).

Self-silencing: Self silencing is marked by suppressing one's emotions to meet the

external standards, to secure one's relationships, preferring others demands before self,

and presenting self as compliant as measured by Silencing the Self Scale (Jack & Dill,

1992). High scale scores indicates high self silencing while low scores indicate low self

silencing.

Trust: It is basically state of having dependable, certain, confidential, faithful and truthful

relationship with one's partner as measured by Trust Scale (Rempel, Holmes &

Zanna,1985). Rempel and Holmes suggest that an overall score exceeding 110 indicates a

very trusting person. Such persons feel that they are involved in a very successful

relationship and that their love for their partner is very strong. Negative behavior by the

partner is not taken as evidence of a lack of love or caring. A score below 90 indicates

low trust. In particular, such people express less love for their partner and are less

inclined to see their relationship as one of mutual giving. A score between 90 and 110

reflects “hopeful” trust. These people expect their partner to act in a relatively pleasant,

helpful, and accepting manner, though they are less confident than the trustful group. The

hopeful person is someone who wants to see the best but is perhaps afraid to believe it.
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 20

Tools of Measurement:

Silencing the Self Scale (STSS), Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), Beck

Depression Inventory (BDI), and Trust Scale-Trust scale within close interpersonal

relationships will be used.

Silencing the Self Scale: It consists of 31-items. Items 1, 8, 11, 15, and 21 are reversed

scored, with a possible range of total score from 31 to 155. It consists of four subscales.

Subscale1; Externalized Self-Perception: It includes 6, 7, 23, 27, 28, 31 items.

Subscale2; Care as Self-Sacrifice: It comprised of 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 22, 29 items.

Subscale 3; Silencing the Self: Items 2,8,14,15,18,20,24,26,30are included in this scale.

Subscale 4; Divided self: This scale comprised of 5,13,16,17,19,21,25 items.

It is a 5 point likest type scale where subject rate himself/herself from strongly

disagree = 1 to strongly agree=5. Internal consistency for total STSS scales ranges

from .86 to .94. While test-retest reliability of STSS in different samples is excellent,

Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: The MPS is a 45-items scale that assesses

self-oriented perfectionism, other oriented perfectionism & socially prescribed

perfectionism. Factor analysis have confirmed that MPS has three factors, representing

self-oriented, other oriented & socially prescribed perfectionism, that factor is congruent

with clinical & subclinical populations ( Hewitt & Flett, 1991 b). Additional research

has confirmed that the MPS dimensions have an adequate degree of reliability and

validity and are relatively free from response biases (Hewitt, Flett 1989 ,1991 a, 1991 b)

Beck Depression Inventory: The Beck depression inventory (BDI) is a 21-items, self

report rating inventory that measures characteristics , attitudes and symptoms of

depression (Beck et al, 1961). The BDI takes approximately 10 minutes to complete,
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 21

although, clients require a Fifth-Sixth grade reading level to adequately understand the

question (Groth- Marnat, 1990). Internal consistency for BDI ranges from 73 to 92 with

the mean of 86 ( Beck,Steer & Garbin, 1988). The BDI demonstrate high internal

consistency , with alpha co-efficient of 86 and 81 for psychiatric and non psychiatric

populations respectively (Beck et al, 1988).

Total Score: Levels of Depression

0-10: These ups and downs are considered normal

11-16: Mild mood disturbance

17-20: Borderline clinical depression

21-30: Moderate depression

31-40: Severe depression

over 40: Extreme depression

Trust Scale: consist of 18 items ( Rempel , Holmes & Zanna, 1985). The scale has three

subscales :

1- Predictability: It consists of consistency and stability of a partner’s specific behaviors

based on past experience.

2-Dependability: It concentrates on the dispositional qualities of the partner which warrant

confidence in the face of risk and potential hurt.

3- Faith: It centres on feelings of confidence in the relationship and the responsiveness and

caring expected from the partner in the face of an uncertain future.

Participants are rated on a 1 ( strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree) scale. In

scoring the scale, responses to items 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 17 are reversed. That is,

1 is changed to 7, 2 to 6, 3 to 5, 5 to 3, 6 to 2, and 7 to 1. For a “predictability” score add

CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 22

1, 3, 8, 11, 13, and 18. For “dependability,” add 2, 5, 7, 9, 15, and 17. For “faith,” add 4, 6,

10, 12, 14, and 16.

Rempel and Holmes suggest that an overall score exceeding 110 indicates a very

trusting person. Such persons feel that they are involved in a very successful relationship

and that their love for their partner is very strong. Negative behavior by the partner is not

taken as evidence of a lack of love or caring. A score below 90 indicates low trust. In

particular, such people express less love for their partner and are less inclined to see their

relationship as one of mutual giving. A score between 90 and 110 reflects “hopeful” trust.

These people expect their partner to act in a relatively pleasant, helpful, and accepting

manner, though they are less confident than the trustful group. The hopeful person is

someone who wants to see the best but is perhaps afraid to believe it. Reliability of trust

scale measured by Uysel, Lin & Bush ( 2012) was .91.

Ethical Consideration:

The ethical consideration will be met during the present investigation. Permission

will be taken for the use of different assessment tools by their authors. Informed consent

will be taken from research participants before data collection. Privacy and confidentially

of the assessment data will be assured to participants in the beginning of the study.

Procedure:

Silencing the self scale, MPS, BDI, & Trust scale will be used after gaining

permission from respective authors. Informed consent will also be taken from different

research participants before data collection. Participants will be debrief about the research.

The data will be collected from married and unmarried females from different areas of

Gujranwala city.
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 23

Statistical Analysis:

Data collected during study will be analyzed by using SPSS version 20. To test H1, H2,

H3 hypotheses Pearson product moment co-relation co-efficient will be used. To check

difference hypotheses H4, H5, & H6. Independent sample t-test will be used to analyze the

data.
CORRELATES OF SELF-SILENCING 24

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