Mediation of early maladaptive schemas between perceptions of parental rearing style and personality disorder symptoms

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Abstract

In schema therapy (ST), early maladaptive schemas (EMS) are proposed to be the defining core of personality disorders. Adverse relational experiences in childhood are assumed to be the main cause for the development of EMS. The present study explored the links between perceived parental rearing behaviours, EMS, and personality disorder symptoms in a clinical sample (N = 108). Results from mediation analyses suggest that EMS mediate the relationships between recalled parenting rearing behaviours and personality disorder symptoms. Findings give support to the theoretical model ST is based on.

Section snippets

Background

Schema therapy (ST, Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003) is an integrative treatment for longstanding characterological problems and personality disorders. Building on traditional cognitive therapy (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979), ST combines elements from Gestalt therapy, attachment theory, constructivist, and psychodynamic therapies to treat patients with personality-related or chronic psychological problems who are not adequately helped by short-term cognitive therapy (Young, 1999). In ST, a

Participants

Participants were a subset of 149 psychiatric outpatients recruited for a study on the validity of the construct of early maladaptive schemas. Patients were referred by their general practitioners for treatment at the psychiatric outpatient clinics at the Helgeland Hospital Trust Mo i Rana and Levanger Hospital in Norway. In the present study, conducted at a 6-month follow-up, there were 108 participants (75% females) with a mean age of 40.3 years (SD = 12.0, range = 19 - 68). Current marital

Correlational analyses

Bivariate correlations between dimensions of remembered parental rearing styles, schema domains, and personality disorder symptoms are displayed in Table 1. Since five participants reported that they grew up without a father figure, sample size for maternal and paternal scales differed slightly. As shown in Table 1, Cluster A and B symptoms were associated with parental rejection and (negatively) with maternal emotional warmth. Cluster C symptoms were significantly correlated with paternal

Discussion

The present study examined the relationships between remembered parental rearing behaviours, early maladaptive schemas, and personality disorder symptoms in a clinical sample. In addition to correlational analyses, a series of multiple mediation analyses were conducted in order to test the hypothesis that EMS mediate the relationships between adverse childhood experiences and personality disorder symptoms.

In line with previous research, results indicated significant associations between

Acknowledgement

The study was supported by a grant from the Psychiatric Research Center of Northern Norway. The author wants to thank the participating patients and the therapists who have contributed to the data collection, especially Trine Drage, Lesley Smith, Wenche Nordnes, and Erling Østnes.

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