Irrational Romantic Relationship Beliefs and Self-silencing: Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation

The university environment is considered an important context for young people to experience close relationships. In close relationships, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors are seen as determinants of a healthy relationship. According to the rational emotional behavioral approach, thoughts direct emotions and behaviors. In romantic relationships, the behavior of female not expressing their thoughts and feelings to maintain their relationship is defined as self-silencing. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to investigate the relationship between irrational romantic relationship beliefs, emotion regulation, and self-silencing and also examine the mediating role of emotion regulation. The participants of the research consisted of 430 female from a university. Personal information form, irrational romantic relationship beliefs scale, emotion regulation questionnaire, and silencing the self scale were utilized to female students. According to findings, positive relationship was found between irrational beliefs and self-silencing, and emotion regulation mediated the relationship between irrational beliefs and self-silencing. The findings were discussed in the context of dysfunctional romantic relationship thoughts and emotion regulation in raising the level of female students' self-silencing.