SELF-SILENCING AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AMONG FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN MALAKAND: TESTING A SERIAL MEDIATION MODEL OF ANGER AND DISTRESS TOLERANCE

Abstract

This study investigated whether self-silencing is associated with anxiety symptoms in Pakistani female university students and if anger and distress tolerance account for this association sequentially. Purposive sampling was used to select 221 female University of Malakand students (aged 18–30) to participate in a cross-sectional survey. The Dimensions of Anger Reactions Scale (DAR-5), the Distress Tolerance Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and the Silencing the Self Scale were all completed by participants. Simple regression, correlations, and PROCESS Model 6 (5,000 bootstrap samples) were used to analyze the data. Self-silencing did not substantially correlate with anger (r =.089, p >.05), but it did connect negatively with distress tolerance (r = −.223, p <.01) and positively with anxiety (r =.198, p <.01). Anxiety was predicted by self-silencing (B = 0.101, p =.003; R2 =.039). There was no significant serial pathway from anger to distress tolerance (B = 0.007, 95% CI [−0.003, 0.020Nevertheless, the direct effect of self-silencing was no longer significant if mediators were included, while distress tolerance alone carried a substantial indirect effect (B = 0.045, 95% CI [0.015, 0.076]). According to the findings, repressing one's wants and emotions is linked to anxiety primarily because it is accompanied by a reduced ability to handle emotional distress. Young women's vulnerability to anxiety may be lessened by university counseling that fosters emotional expression and distress tolerance.