The Mediating Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas in the Relationships of Emotional Maltreatment and Emotional Disorders

Abstract

Although the consequences of emotional maltreatment have not been extensively investigated, experiences of emotional maltreatment or abuse have been associated with powerful and enduring psychological problems. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which emotional maltreatment contributed to emotional disorders, and the role of Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) in relationships of emotional maltreatment and emotional disorders in pre-adolescents. This study used the correlation-modelling design. A total of 492 junior high students participated in the study. The emotional abuse or maltreatment questionnaire made by NOROUZI (2012), the Achenbach self-report emotional disorders questionnaire preadolescence form (ACHENBACH & RESCORLA 2001), and the Early Maladaptive Schemas questionnaire (RIJKEBOER& DE BOO 2010) were used to measure and analyse emotional maltreatment and EMS in the students. The findings indicated that emotional maltreatment can directly lead to emotional disorders (anxiety, affective disorder) and schemas such as loneliness, submission and vulnerability. Emotional maltreatment was a significant predictor of emotional disorders. Findings of this study can inform parents and those who treat children in negative ways (maltreatment) of their impact on children's emotions and of the negative outcomes.Keywords: emotional maltreatment or abuse, early maladaptive schemas, emotional disorders, anxiety, affective disorder European Journal of Mental Health 12 (2017) 104-115 DOI: 10.5708/EJMH.12.2017.

Relationships between emotional processing difficulties and early maladaptive schemas on the regulation of psychological needs

“…Therefore, emotional processing difficulties may impair the regulation of psychological needs, and this process may be even worse by the activation of early maladaptive schemas in a self-perpetuating loop of feed-back and feed-forward reinforcement. Thus, the mediation role of early maladaptive schemas between different psychological constructs and symptoms is documented in the literature (Abdolahzadeh, Adibsereshki & Hasanzadeh, 2017;Balsamo et al, 2015;Roelofs et al, 2011;Roelofs et al, 2013;Schatzman, 2009).…”

Psychological Mediators of the Association Between Childhood Emotional Abuse and Depression: A Systematic Review

“…Overall, six out of eight (75%) studies (28,64,77,84,85,89) supported early maladaptive schemas as the pathway by which childhood emotional abuse may lead to subsequent depression symptoms. However, there is a lack of consistency in their findings concerning whether maladaptive schemas in general or specific schema themes act as the mediator.…”

“…In total, eight studies examined early maladaptive schemas as the pathway by which childhood emotional abuse may lead to subsequent depression symptoms. Both cross-sectional (28,64,71,77,84,85,89) and longitudinal (62) designs were employed. Five (28,62,64,84,89) used the YSQ (105) and two (77,85) adapted the YSQ for Turkish or Iranian adolescents.…”

“…Four studies examined particular schema themes that may mediate the emotional abuse-depression link (28,77,84,85). Lumley and Harkness (28) found that specific early maladaptive schemas of social isolation and self-sacrifice mediated the relation between early emotional maltreatment and anhedonic depression in depressed adolescents.…”

“…In Turkish adolescents, Yigit et al (85) found that both disconnection/rejection and impaired autonomy significantly mediated emotional abuse and depression in their non-clinical sample, whereas only disconnection/rejection significantly mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and depression in their clinical sample. In Iranian adolescents, Rafi et al (77) reported that early maladaptive schemas of loneliness, vulnerability to harm, and submission mediated the relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and depression. However, neither the Child Abuse Self Report Scale (CASRS) for assessing childhood emotional maltreatment nor the Schema Inventory for Children (SIC) for measuring early maladaptive schemas used in the study of Rafi et al was validated.…”