کمال گرایی، خودخاموشی، و افسردگی

The current study examined the associations among dimensions of perfectionism, silencing the self, and depression. A sample of 202 participants completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Silencing The Self Scale, and a depression measure. The results indicated that both self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism were associated with dimensions of silencing the self with a stronger link between socially prescribed perfectionism and silencing the self. Both socially prescribed perfectionism and dimensions of silencing the self were associated significantly with depression. Statistical tests of moderator effects indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism and silencing the self-interacted to predict elevated levels of depression. In addition, mediational analyses indicated that self-silencing was a partial mediator of the link between socially prescribed perfectionism and depression. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

A focus on the attainment of high standards is a continuing theme in research on personality and depression. Extensive research has explored the role of individual differences in perfectionism (Cox and Enns, 2003, Flett et al., 2003 and Hewitt and Flett, 1991). This research indicates that certain perfectionism dimensions may be associated not only with concurrent depressive symptoms, but also with the chronicity of depressive symptoms (Cox and Enns, 2003 and Hewitt et al., 1999). Research with the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; Hewitt & Flett, 1991) has focused on three dimensions – self-oriented perfectionism (i.e., exceeding high personal standards), other-oriented perfectionism (i.e., demanding perfection from others), and socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., a pressure to be perfect imposed on the self). Socially prescribed perfectionism has shown a consistent association with depression (see Flett & Hewitt, 2002). Another highly relevant perspective for understanding depression involves individual differences in self-silencing. Jack (1991) proposed the construct of self-silencing to account for the preponderance of depression among females. However, subsequent research has shown that self-silencing is relevant for both females and males (Thompson, 1995). People high in self-silencing are self-sacrificing individuals who keep their distress to themselves in an attempt to maintain or improve interpersonal relationships. Their distress often takes the form of unexpressed anger (see Jack, 1999b and Jack, 2001). People high in self-silencing conceal their true feelings out of desires to maintain relationships and obtain the approval of significant others. A link between perfectionism and self-silencing follows from Jack’s (1999a) observation that the standards used for self-evaluation are central to an understanding of self-silencing behaviour. Jack suggested that a sense of inferiority and self-reproach stems from the idealistic standards that the self-silencer uses to judge the self. The standards themselves have a social aspect because they reflect social dictates and a sense of being obliged to act in a socially approved of manner and to achieve prescribed goals. Unfortunately, for the self-silencing individual, this focus on ideals and being perfect as the accepted standard should make them susceptible to dysphoria when they perceive a substantial gap between the actual self and the goal of being perfect. Jack (1999a) provided a series of compelling case examples of distressed people who clearly exhibited perfectionistic characteristics and self-silencing. These people appear to suffer from the “tyranny of the shoulds” described by Horney (1950) and by Ellis (2002) as part of their descriptions of perfectionism. For instance, Jack (1999a) documented the case of Carol, a physician who described the perfectionistic pressures inherent in the “Supermom syndrome”. Carol responded to these pressures by silencing the self and trying to appear perfect to others. Our analysis of the various perfectionism dimensions indicates that self-silencing is most relevant to socially prescribed perfectionism, given that socially prescribed perfectionists are focused on obtaining approval and avoiding the disapproval of others (Hewitt and Flett, 1991 and Hewitt and Flett, 2004). Although some individuals reject this pressure to be perfect, developmental analyses emphasize that most people with high socially prescribed perfectionism seek to please others, including parental figures, by trying to live up to expectations (Flett, Hewitt, Oliver, & Macdonald, 2002). Also, socially prescribed perfectionism is similar to self-silencing it too is associated with passive, indirect responses to problems and conflicts (Hewitt & Flett, 2002). Unfortunately, empirical research on perfectionism and self-silencing is quite limited at present. A link between socially prescribed perfectionism and self-silencing can be inferred from the results of a study of dating students (see Flett et al., 2003). This study showed that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with low scores on a measure of “voice”. Voicing one’s concerns is one way of responding to dissatisfaction in interpersonal relationships. To our knowledge, the only study conducted thus far on perfectionism and self-silencing was by Geller, Cockell, Hewitt, Goldner, and Flett (2000). They administered the MPS and the Silencing The Self Scale (STSS) to 21 anorexic patients, 21 women with other psychiatric disorders, and 21 normal control participants. Geller et al. (2000) examined the correlations for the total sample by collapsing across the groups. These analyses showed that both self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism were associated robustly with all STSS measures (r’s ranging from .55 to .77). However, there is a need to re-examine the magnitude of the associations between silencing the self and trait perfectionism in another sample because the extreme scores among the group of anorexic patients likely inflated the magnitude of these correlations. Also, questions always exist about the representativeness of samples comprised of individuals who seek treatment. Accordingly, perfectionism and self-silencing were re-examined in the current investigation. We also evaluated whether the association between perfectionism and depression is moderated or mediated by self-silencing. In particular, we tested whether socially prescribed perfectionism interacts with elevated self-silencing to produce elevated depression. We also evaluated the related possibility that self-silencing mediates the link between socially prescribed perfectionism and depression. Just as socially prescribed perfectionism is linked consistently with depression, self-silencing is also associated with depression (see Ali et al., 2002, Thompson, 1995 and Thompson et al., 2001). At the conceptual level, the “silencing the self” construct has several components and features that are relevant to socially prescribed perfectionism and that ought to combine with socially prescribed perfectionism to produce elevated depression. In general, self-silencing is believed to contribute to a “loss of self” that is linked with depression (see Drew, Heesacker, Frost, & Oelke, 2004) and this loss of self should be particularly deleterious for socially prescribed perfectionists who feel hopeless to achieve the standards imposed on them. Also, certain aspects of the silencing the self-construct should be particularly damaging for socially prescribed perfectionists. Most notably, individuals with a high socially prescribed perfectionism who also tend to judge themselves by external standards should be at risk because the impact of their inability to meet expectations is magnified. The notion that self-silencing is a mediator of the link between socially prescribed perfectionism and depression is in keeping with coping models which suggest that a maladaptive response to stress mediates or moderates the link between perfectionism and depression (see Hewitt & Flett, 2002). In the present instance, the tendency for socially prescribed perfectionists to be high in self-silencing would constitute an ineffective way of responding to interpersonal conflict and stress and this tendency to silence the self could, in turn, contribute to depression. A mediational model is also suggested to the extent that self-silencing does indeed involve a loss of sense of self and a negative self-view; other research has indicated that diminished self-esteem and a lack of unconditional self-acceptance mediate the link between perfectionism and depression (Flett et al., 2003 and Rice et al., 1998). Thus, the possible mediating role of self-silencing was also assessed.