Feminist researchers have demonstrated that engagement in silencing of the self (i.e., self-restrictive and sacrificial behaviors reflecting how women “should” be in relationships) remains a prevalent strategy for relationship maintenance. However, little is known about (young) women silencing themselves in relationships where abuse is present. Young women’s experiences of silencing and other partner-focused behaviors (e.g., sexual compliance) within their relationships were thus explored. Young, partnered women ( Mage = 21; N = 146) completed an online survey and open-ended questions about their current intimate relationships. Comparing between groups (abuse, n = 108; non-abuse, n = 38), the former scored higher on measures of total self-silencing, sexual compliance, and non-constructive communication and lower on measures of constructive communication (all p < .001). A mixed inductive and deductive content analysis found that while the importance of communicating with their partner was a preferred strategy for conflict management, multiple participants still emphasized self-suppression as an important part of their experience of relational conflict. Also, most participants indicated feeling as though they could be their authentic selves in their relationships, which suggests that their silencing may be situational and strategic in nature. These findings nuance previous understandings of self-silencing as inherently harmful and instead frame it as something sporadic and done strategically. They also bring forth questions about the extent to which young women’s emphasis on communication and insistence that they can be authentic are a product of changing societal expectations of women in today’s society compared to the 1980s/1990s when much of the foundational work on self-silencing was being done.

中文翻译：

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年轻女性在异性恋关系中的沉默型行为


女权主义研究人员已经证明，自我沉默（即反映女性在关系中“应该”如何存在的自我限制和牺牲行为）仍然是维持关系的普遍策略。然而，人们对（年轻）女性在存在虐待的关系中保持沉默的情况知之甚少。因此，探讨了年轻女性在关系中的沉默和其他以伴侣为中心的行为（例如性顺从）的经历。年轻、有伴侣的女性（M年龄= 21； N = 146）完成了一项在线调查和有关他们当前亲密关系的开放式问题。比较两组（虐待，n = 108；非虐待，n = 38），前者在完全自我沉默、性顺从和非建设性沟通方面得分较高，而在建设性沟通方面得分较低（所有 p < .001）。混合归纳和演绎的内容分析发现，虽然与伴侣沟通的重要性是冲突管理的首选策略，但多个参与者仍然强调自我压抑是他们关系冲突经历的重要组成部分。此外，大多数参与者表示感觉他们可以在人际关系中做真实的自己，这表明他们的沉默本质上可能是情境性和策略性的。这些发现微妙地改变了之前对自我沉默本质上有害的理解，而是将其视为零星的、有策略的行为。 他们还提出了这样的问题：与 20 世纪 80 年代/90 年代相比，年轻女性对沟通的重视和坚持自己的真实性在多大程度上是当今社会对女性的社会期望不断变化的产物，当时的大部分基础工作都是关于自我沉默的。正在完成。