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The objective is to review three decades of research on self-silencing and its connection to depression in women.

February 26, 2026Sex Roles3 citationsOpen Access

Advancing the Next Generation of Research on Self-Silencing and Depression: A Narrative Review and Synthesis of Three Decades of Research

DJDana Crowley JackWestern Washington University LBLeslie R. BrodyBoston University JSJennifer SikovFlorida Department of Children and Families

Key Points

The objective is to review three decades of research on self-silencing and its connection to depression in women.
Conducted a narrative review of 126 studies assessing self-silencing with the Silencing the Self Scale.
Examined mediators and moderators of the self-silencing and depression relationship.
Identified correlates of self-silencing and its role in social contexts.
Found self-silencing prevalent in inequitable social environments and traditional gender roles.
Established self-silencing as a mediator linking social dynamics to depression.
Identified cognitive and emotional processes that heighten self-silencing and its association with depression.

Abstract

Silencing the self theory (Jack, 1991) proposed that women’s traditional gender roles and social inequality foster the formation of specific cognitive/relational schemas that direct their behaviors toward ensuring safe, secure relationships and avoiding conflict and loss. These schemas create a vulnerability to depression by implicitly encouraging women to silence their thoughts and feelings, prioritize others’ needs, and judge themselves through external standards – referred to as self-silencing. The current article provides a narrative review of over three decades of research on self-silencing and depression. A total of 126 studies that assessed self-silencing with the Silencing the Self Scale (Jack contexts shaped by traditional gender role ideologies; and relationships characterized by conflict, power inequities, and a lack of mutuality. Studies also supported self-silencing as a mechanism linking social/cultural/relational processes with depression. Moreover, specific cognitive and emotional processes appeared to heighten self-silencing and contributed to the self-silencing–depression association. We consider the implications of these findings for silencing the self theory and offer a comprehensive set of recommendations for advancing the next generation of research on self-silencing and depression.

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