A scoping review of self-silencing and mental health outcomes in women across three decades

Silencing the Self-theory proposes that women who inhibit self-expression to preserve close relationships are at greater risk of depression. This scoping review maps the empirical literature on self-silencing and women’s mental health published since 1996. Following PRISMA-ScR, we searched Scopus, Web of Science and ProQuest (1,761 records) and an AI-assisted search engine (Consensus; 108 records). After deduplication, single-reviewer title/abstract screening and quality-control checks, 184 records (1996–2026) were charted: 154 primary studies, 11 reviews and 19 non-empirical records. Two raters appraised the quantitative studies with the MMAT (κ = 0.98). Depressive symptoms were the most frequently examined outcome (111 of 184 records; 60.3%), followed by anxiety (29; 15.8%), disordered eating (27; 14.7%), self-esteem (19; 10.3%), relationship functioning (18; 9.8%), intimate partner violence (18; 9.8%), trauma/PTSD (9; 4.9%) and suicidality (2; 1.1%). Most studies were cross-sectional, and cultural context, racial identity and partner dynamics are increasingly examined as moderators. Screening and charting were done by one reviewer from abstracts, and effect directions and sizes were not charted, so counts show where research effort has gone, not the strength or consistency of associations. The review maps three decades of research across outcomes, populations, designs and theoretical frameworks, and identifies which outcome areas now have enough primary studies to justify full systematic reviews. Many women learn to quiet their own thoughts, feelings and needs to keep the peace in close relationships. This review looks at “self-silencing” and how it connects to women’s mental health. We searched three academic databases and a supplementary citation-search tool, then screened the results against explicit criteria and cross-checked them against a keyword-network analysis, arriving at 184 records published between 1996 and 2026 that map what is already known about self-silencing and women’s mental health. Of these, 154 were primary empirical studies (original research reporting new data), 11 were reviews of the existing literature, and 19 were commentaries, conceptual papers or book chapters without new data. Most of these studies look at depression; fewer look at eating problems, self-esteem and relationships, and a growing number ask whether the picture differs by culture or racial identity. Most of this evidence comes from single-survey, cross-sectional studies, so they can show that self-silencing and poorer mental health tend to occur together, but not that one causes the other. The review is intended to help clinicians and researchers see which populations and mechanisms have been studied most, and to help researchers identify where more rigorous, longer-term, and more diverse research is still needed.