Self Silencing in Women: The Role of Environment, Motherhood Experience, Education, and Relationship Status

Women sometimes silence themselves by keeping wishes, needs and expectations of others more than their own to avoid any conflict and to secure themselves in their intimate relationships. The relational process may be accompanied by feelings and cognitions of women and environmental factors. The purpose of this study is to examine young women’s self silencing among women living in two different cities in terms of education level and relationship status. The research was carried out with 503 young women (student/non student) in Istanbul and Erzurum. In order to collect data Silencing The Self Scale and Demographic Information Form were used. According to the findings of the study, it was found that self silencing in women differs according to living in the two cities and education level. The findings on the level of self silencing are interpreted in line with the differences found between the level of self silencing in the two cities and different educational levels. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in terms of self silencing according to the relationship status. Findings are discussed within the framework of women’s studies.