The Mediating Effect of Self-Silencing Moderated by Self-Concept Clarity on the Relationship between University Students Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Interpersonal Problems

This study examined the moderated mediation effect of self-concept clarity in the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and interpersonal problems among university students, with self-silencing as a mediator. The participants were 326 undergraduate students enrolled in four-year universities across the country, and the collected data were analyzed using SPSS 28.0 and the SPSS PROCESS Macro. As a results of the study, First, self-silencing was found to partially mediate the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and interpersonal problems. second, self-concept clarity significantly moderated the relationship between self-silencing and interpersonal problems. Third, a significant moderated mediation effect of self-concept clarity was found in the pathway from socially prescribed perfectionism to interpersonal problems through self-silencing. This study aimed to identify individual internal factors influencing interpersonal problems, and the limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.