Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.5 Issue.2

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.23.2.01

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

The Relationship Between Self-Silencing and General Distress: Does Self-Esteem Play a Mediating Role?

Kendini Susturma ve Genel Sıkıntı Arasındaki İlişki: Benlik Saygısı Aracı Bir Rol Oynuyor Mu?

Meva Demir Kaya1, Feridun Kaya2

Abstract:

The first purpose of this study is to test the validity and reliability of the Self-Silencing Scale in a Turkish sample. The second purpose of this study is to examine if there is any relationships between self-silencing and general distress, and to investigate if there is any mediating role of self-esteem on this possible relationship. A total of 427 university students within the range age of 18 to 31 years, with a mean age of 20.70 participated in this study. Participants were administered The Self-Silencing Scale, Two-Dimensional Self-Esteem Scale, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), and a personal information form. CFA and regression-based mediation analyzes were carried out in the study. According to the CFA result, the 29-item structure of the scale was confirmed in the Turkish sample. As another result of the research, the findings revealed a negative significant relationship between self-silencing and self-esteem. On the other hand, a positive significant relationship was found between self-silencing and depression, anxiety and stress. In addition, self-esteem mediated the relationship between self-silencing and depression, anxiety and stress. The indirect effects of self-silencing on general distress were also found to be significant. In other words, it has been observed that self-silencing has both direct effects on depression, anxiety and stress, and indirect effects through self-esteem.

Keywords: Self-silencing, Self-esteem, Depression, Anxiety, Stress

1Asst. Prof., Ataturk University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Psychology, Erzurum-Türkiye, [email protected], Orcid; 0000-0002-1174-6305

2Asst. Prof., Ataturk University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Psychology, Erzurum-Türkiye, [email protected], Orcid; 0000-0001-9549-6691

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Feridun Kaya, Ataturk University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Psychology, Erzurum-Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected]

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 14.07.2022, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 05.09.2022, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 13.04.2023, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 17.06.2023

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Demir-Kaya, M. & Kaya, F. (2023). The Relationship Between Self-Silencing and General Distress: Does Self-Esteem Play a Mediating Role?. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 5(2): 95-104

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/