Silencing the Self Across Cultures ─ Depression and Gender in the Social World

Winner of the 2011 Ursula Gielen Global Psychology Book Award!

This award is presented by APA Division 52 to the authors or editors of a book that makes the greatest contribution to psychology as an international discipline and profession.

This international volume offers new perspectives on social and psychological aspects of depression. The twenty-one contributors hailing from thirteen countries represent contexts with very different histories, political and economic structures, and gender role disparities. Authors rely on Silencing the Self theory, which details the negative psychological effects that result when individuals silence themselves in close relationships, and the importance of social context in precipitating depression. Specific patterns of thought on how to achieve closeness in relationships (self-silencing schema) are known to predict depression. This book breaks new ground by demonstrating that the link between depressive symptoms and self-silencing occurs across a range of cultures.

Silencing the Self Across Cultures explains why women's depression is more widespread than men's, and why the treatment of depression lies in understanding that a person's individual psychology is inextricably related to the social world and close relationships. Several chapters describe the transformative possibilities of community-driven movements for disadvantaged women that support healing through a recovery of voice, as well as the need to counter violations of human rights as a means of reducing women's risk of depression. Bringing the work of these researchers together in one collection furthers international dialogue about critical social factors that affect the rising rates of depression around the globe.

Dana C. Jack is Professor at Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University. Her research examines women's depression and anger in the US and internationally, and qualitative research methods. She was a Fulbright Scholar to Nepal in 2001, and is the author of three books, including Silencing the Self: Women and Depression.

Alisha Ali is Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University. Her research examines social influences on women's depression, including the effects of emotional abuse, racism, and harassment. She is currently the principal investigator on a series of studies examining economic empowerment for survivors of domestic violence.