Self-Silencing with its Roots in Automatic Thoughts: A Study on Women

ABSTRACT:
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between self-silencing and automatic negative thoughts among working mothers and non-working mothers. The independent variable of the study was automatic thoughts, and the dependent variable was Self-Silencing. The interactive effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable of the study was also investigated. The mixed sample of 175 women who were both working and non-working mothers and were aged between 35-45 years was used for this study.
The data was collected through the Silencing the Self Scale and The Automatic thoughts questionnaire. The statistical analysis included correlation and regression. Results indicated that Automatic negative thoughts had a significant positive correlation with self-silencing (r=0.380; p<0.01),and automatic thoughts also predicted self-silencing, accounting for 14.0% variance in it. The results become meaningful in the context of changing scenario of modern society, particularly in India.

Keywords: Mothers, working, non-working, self-criticism, depression, anxiety, suppression.

https://doi.org/10.37948/ensemble-2021-0202-a025