Silencing the Self Across Cultures

Download or read book Silencing the Self Across Cultures written by Dana C. Jack and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-28 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.