Early Maladaptive Patterns and the Type of Attitude to Pregnancy in Women at Late Gestation

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;">The work is aimed at studying the early maladaptive schemes of women and the type of attitude to pregnancy at late gestation. The materials of an empirical study obtained on a sample of women in late pregnancy are presented. The average gestation period was 38.9±0.92 weeks. The study involved 122 women aged 18 to 40 years (mean age — 28.84±6.1 years). The design of the study included a method for diagnosing Jeffrey Young's Early Maladaptive Schemes (YSQ-S3R, adapted by P.M. Kasyanik, E.V. Romanova (2013)), the test of the relationship of a pregnant I.V. Dobryakova (E.G. Eidemiller, I.V. Dobryakov, I.M. Nikolskaya, 2003). The following results were obtained: significant differences in the types of psychological components of gestational dominance in women, depending on age, were revealed. For women aged 26-30 years, to a greater extent than for women under 25 years, the optimal type of psychological component of the gestational dominant is typical (p=0.05). The highest values were obtained for the domain "Broken boundaries". The domains "Communication disruption and rejection" and "Impaired autonomy" are the least pronounced in women in late pregnancy. For women with an optimal type of attitude to pregnancy, the early maladaptive scheme of "Social alienation" is less characteristic. For women with a euphoric type of attitude to pregnancy, such early maladaptive schemes as "Self-sacrifice", "Strict standards / Pickiness", and "Seeking approval" are more typical. Two reliable regression models were obtained and described for the euphoric type of attitude to pregnancy (F=1.77, R<sup>2</sup>=0.236, p=0.039) and the optimal type (F=2.19, R<sup>2</sup>=0.277, p=0.007). As possible predictors of the euphoric type of attitude to pregnancy and childbirth, we can distinguish the following: a) a lack of expectation from others of deception and manipulation; b) a lack of need to control their emotions, and c) increased demands on others, as possible predictors of the optimal type of attitude to pregnancy a) a need for cohesion, connectivity with others; b) attention to their needs and unwillingness to sacrifice them "at the behest" of others; c) an increased need to control their emotions and impulses and d) confidence that they have a special social status and privileges.</p>