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Self-silencing mediates the link between marital conflict and depression

University of Ottawa, whiff{at}uottawa.ca

Meredith L. Foot

University of Ottawa

Janice M. Thompson

Simon Fraser University

The Silencing the Self model of depression (Jack, 1991) proposes that women are at risk for depression when they suppress their true thoughts and feelings to avoid conflict. Using a community sample of 115 couples, the present study investigated whether self-silencing mediates the relationship between marital conflict and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that both men and women who perceived their marriages as conflicted tended to hide their anger while pretending to go along with their partner's opinions or wishes which, along with a tendency to judge oneself by external standards, also mediated the relationship between marital conflict and depressive symptoms. The silencing model appears to describe the development of both men's and women's depression in conflicted marriages and may be refined by focusing on how individuals cope with anger in intimate relationships.

Key Words: depression • depressive symptoms • gender differences • marital conflict • marital relations • mediators • silencing the self

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