UNSPOKEN BURDENS: HOW GUILT FEELING AND SELF-SILENCING INFLUENCE DEPRESSION THROUGH COGNITIVE VULNERABILITY

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the direct and indirect effect of  guilt feelings, and self-silencing on depression through cognitive vulnerability among depression patients. This study comprised the depression patients from Faisalabad division (N = 250). Purposive sampling technique was used in the present. The Shame and Guilt Scale by Marschall, Sanftner, and Tangney, (1994), The Silencing the Self Scale constructed by Dill and Jack (1992), Cognitive Dysfunctional Attitude Scale by Weismann and Beck (1978), and the subscale of depression from DASS scale constructed by Lovibond and Lovibond (1995) were used in the study. To achieve the objectives multiple statistical analyses were also conducted including descriptive statistics, reliability analyses and Pearson correlation of the variables. Mediation was computed with PROCESS for examine the direct and indirect effect.Statistical analysis revealed that all variables were correlated in the expected directions. Cognitive vulnerability mediated the relation of self-silencing and guilt feeling with depression. Finally, implications of these results and limitations of the study were discussed in line with the literature and suggestions for future studies were reflected upon.