Due to medical advances in burn care, the survival rate of individuals with serious burns has significantly increased. This has lead to a great need to focus on psychological aspects of burn injury recovery, particularly how people adapt to their changed bodies. The literature indicates that burn size and severity is not directly associated with the degree of distress and that for women, dissatisfaction with their bodies increases in the year after injury. In this study, women’s experiences of their bodies were investigated by asking them about pain, social relationships, mental health, and appearance. In-depth interviews were conducted with female burn survivors in the first year after injury and the transcripts were analyzed using a narrative-discursive analytic methodology. On the surface, the women told narratives which emphasized how well they were doing, however, further analysis revealed subordinate narratives which indicated body dissatisfaction and difficulties with adjustment. In order to suppress narratives of distress, the women engaged in “self-silencing,” of which three forms are outlined. The self-silencing functioned to help the women resist the cultural devaluing associated with “disfigurement” and more personally, to maintain close relationships. As self-silencing has been linked to depression and anxiety, encouraging women to discuss their difficulties may prove to be pertinent in psychological adjustment following burn injury.

Due to medical advances in burn care, the survival rate of individuals with serious burns has significantly increased. This has lead to a great need to focus on psychological aspects of burn injury recovery, particularly how people adapt to their changed bodies. The literature indicates that burn size and severity is not directly associated with the degree of distress and that for women, dissatisfaction with their bodies increases in the year after injury. In this study, women’s experiences of their bodies were investigated by asking them about pain, social relationships, mental health, and appearance. In-depth interviews were conducted with female burn survivors in the first year after injury and the transcripts were analyzed using a narrative-discursive analytic methodology. On the surface, the women told narratives which emphasized how well they were doing, however, further analysis revealed subordinate narratives which indicated body dissatisfaction and difficulties with adjustment. In order to suppress narratives of distress, the women engaged in “self-silencing,” of which three forms are outlined. The self-silencing functioned to help the women resist the cultural devaluing associated with “disfigurement” and more personally, to maintain close relationships. As self-silencing has been linked to depression and anxiety, encouraging women to discuss their difficulties may prove to be pertinent in psychological adjustment following burn injury.

Thesis advisor: Belle Liang / Research on women's voice and self-silencing has shown that girls begin to silence themselves during adolescence in response to sociocultural pressures to conform to gender norms and as a way to stay relationally connected with others. While the literature on voice for women has been extensive, it has centered primarily on the experiences of European-American women, which may not be generalizable to other ethnic/racial groups. This study extends existing research by examining voice experiences for Asian American women specifically. Given the multiple minority statuses and social roles that are a part of Asian American women's identities, the current study examined the intersecting influences of gender, race, culture, and power, in the experience of voice and authenticity. Specifically, this study explored voice for these women in different social contexts where issues of gender, race and power tend to be salient. Additionally, the study examined the role of racism-related stress and culture in self-silencing. Finally, associations between voice, support for voice, and psychological wellbeing were assessed. Findings indicated that levels of voice, as well as levels of perceived support for voice varied by social context, providing evidence for the importance of social climate in voice. In general, both voice and perceived support for voice were higher in settings with minimal power differentials (i.e., with female and Asian peers vs. with authority figures). In two of the social contexts of interest (i.e., non-Asian peers and male authority figures), racism-related stress was significantly associated with lower levels of voice. Self-construal, which was used as an indicator of cultural tendencies, was also significantly associated with voice; individuals with an independent style had more voice, and those with an interdependent style had less voice. Higher levels of voice were associated with higher perceived support for voice. And ultimately, higher voice was linked with better psychological outcomes. Implications for research, work/school settings, and clinical practice were discussed, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between identification with feminist beliefs and sexual assertiveness, by examining three potential mediators of that relationship: self-objectification, empowered entitlement, and self-silencing. Cross-sectional survey data were collected via online survey from 188 women. Results from correlational analyses indicated that active commitment to feminist beliefs was significantly related to lower levels of self-objectification and self-silencing and higher levels of empowered entitlement, but was not related to sexual assertiveness. Identification with nonfeminist beliefs (passive acceptance of sexism) was significantly related to higher levels of self-objectification and self-silencing and decreased empowered entitlement, as well as lower levels of sexual assertiveness. Baron and Kenny's (1986) regression approach was used to explore potential mediators of the relationship between identification with nonfeminist beliefs and sexual assertiveness. In individual regression analyses, self-silencing fully mediated the relationship between identification with nonfeminist beliefs and sexual assertiveness. Regression analyses examining empowered entitlement as a mediator approached significance and analyses examining self-objectification as mediator were non-significant. An integrative analysis utilizing Preacher and Hayes' (2008) method for evaluating indirect effects in multiple mediator models was used to further explore the impact of all three mediator variables and two covariates (age and education level) on the relationship between nonfeminist beliefs and sexual assertiveness. The overall model accounted for a significant portion of the variance in sexual assertiveness and the total indirect effect of nonfeminist beliefs on sexual assertiveness through the set of mediators was significant, whereas the direct effect of nonfeminist beliefs on sexual assertiveness was not significant, indicating that, after controlling for covariates, the set of three mediators together (self-objectification, empowered entitlement, and self-silencing) fully mediated the relationship between nonfeminist beliefs and sexual assertiveness. However, self-silencing appeared to contribute the only unique significant mediation in the model, accounting for approximately 84% of the total indirect effect. Unique indirect effects for self-objectification and empowered entitlement were not significant. Implications for understanding the relationship between identification with nonfeminist beliefs and sexual assertiveness and directions for future research are discussed.

Romantic relationships are one of the most important relationships a woman will develop in her life. Women are often socialized to be compliant within their relationships, and are reminded of how a thin body type is ideal. The implications of this socialization can affect the way a woman feels about her body. The current study included 207 women who ranged in age from 18-30, were in a relationship (neither married nor engaged) for 6 months or longer, and identified as either being attracted to the same or opposite sex. Results of the study indicated a significant effect of higher levels of body dissatisfaction between both negative relationship quality, and increased engagement in unhealthy dietary behaviours. In addition, self-silencing was found to be a significant mediator in the relationship between relationship quality and both body dissatisfaction and unhealthy dietary behaviours. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Romantic relationships are one of the most important relationships a woman will develop in her life. Women are often socialized to be compliant within their relationships, and are reminded of how a thin body type is ideal. The implications of this socialization can affect the way a woman feels about her body. The current study included 207 women who ranged in age from 18-30, were in a relationship (neither married nor engaged) for 6 months or longer, and identified as either being attracted to the same or opposite sex. Results of the study indicated a significant effect of higher levels of body dissatisfaction between both negative relationship quality, and increased engagement in unhealthy dietary behaviours. In addition, self-silencing was found to be a significant mediator in the relationship between relationship quality and both body dissatisfaction and unhealthy dietary behaviours. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Humans innately feel a desire for connection, but in its pursuit, some may inadvertently thwart the very connection they seek. One way this may happen is through forsaking a sense of autonomy in favor of relatedness using behaviors such as self- silencing (stifling the self to preserve a relationship) and emotional fusion (relying on validation from others). To better understand how these four variables—autonomy, relatedness, self-silencing and emotional fusion—function together, I used latent profile analysis to identify classes among US adults in long-term relationships (n = 1065). Separate classes were identified for men and women. I then used the Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars method to predict class membership using variables such as demographics, attachment styles, relational connection, depressive symptoms, and gender roles and ideologies. Results indicated four latent groups for women (stifled-59%, detached-29%, moderate-9%, and differentiated-3%) and four for men (stifled-33%, detached-50%, imbalanced-11%, and differentiated-6%). In all classes, autonomy and relatedness balanced each other out such that if autonomy was deficient, relatedness was also low. In most classes, autonomy and relatedness were inversely associated with self-silencing and emotional fusion so that those with high autonomy and relatedness were less likely to self-silence or engage in emotional fusion. Those with high autonomy and relatedness were also less likely to adhere to traditional gender roles and ideologies, less likely to experience depressive symptoms, less likely to be anxiously or avoidantly attached, and more likely to experience relational connection.

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This dissertation tests if a young adult’s social location determines what type of information he or she will receive about sexual health from parents and formal sexual education programs. I also test whether sexual education mediates direct associations between social location and 4 protective sexual health behaviors: condom communication, consistent condom use, delaying sexual debut, and reducing the number of lifetime sexual partners. Using the 2011-2013 wave of the National Survey of Family Growth, I look for differences in sexual education and engaging in protective sexual health behaviors among white, Hispanic, and African American men and women ages 15-24. I find that communication about sex from parents and formal sex education programs varies by race and gender. I also find that direct associations exist between social location, parental communication, formal sexual education, and protective sexual health behaviors. However, all of these operate independently from one another, and I find that parental communication and formal sexual education does little to mediate the direct associations between social location and protective sexual behaviors. Policy implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.