Relationships Between Depression, Self-Esteem, and Self-Silencing Behavior

• DOI: 10.1521/jscp.1996.15.4.381
• Publication Date: 2011-01-21T20:45:38Z
• Authors: Jessica R. Page; Heather B. Stevens; Shelley L. Galvin
• Keywords: Depression

The Silencing the Self Scale (STSS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory (MSEI) were administered-to 90 male and 91 female participants in order to determine gender differences on the STSS and to establish the relationship between self-silencing, depression, and self-esteem. Contrary to our hypotheses, men's scores on the STSS were significantly higher than women's scores, and scores on the BDI and the MSEI showed no significant gender differences. Self-silencing was significantly related to depression at low levels of self-esteem but not at average or high levels, suggesting that a high score on the STSS is not necessarily reflective of the self-silencing schema proposed by Dana Jack.