The Relationships Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Youth Mental Health: A Systematic Review

Background Although early maladaptive schemas (EMS) have been strongly associated with psychopathology in adults, this association is less clear in young people since schemas are still emerging. This systematic review examines the relationship between EMS and psychopathology in young people to asses...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive therapy and research 2020-08, Vol.44 (4), p.715-751
Main Authors: Nicol, Annemarie, Mak, Anita S., Murray, Kristen, Walker, Iain, Buckmaster, Dean
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical Psychology
Cognitive ability
Cognitive Psychology
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Psychopathology
Quality of Life Research
Review
Systematic review
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Although early maladaptive schemas (EMS) have been strongly associated with psychopathology in adults, this association is less clear in young people since schemas are still emerging. This systematic review examines the relationship between EMS and psychopathology in young people to assess the degree to which EMS discriminate between psychopathologies, consistent with the cognitive content specificity hypothesis. Methods PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were systematically searched. Results Fifty-eight studies were identified for inclusion, with 24,005 participants across all studies. We found evidence of the relationship between EMS and psychopathology in young people. EMS were found to discriminate between depression, anxiety, eating pathology, borderline symptomology, and externalizing behaviors. Conclusion Findings are discussed in the context of treatment approaches for psychopathology in youth, specifically through an increased understanding of the role of EMS in this developmental period. We also suggest future research directions and discuss the methodological limitations of the studies reviewed, including a bias towards community samples, and a lack of consistency in EMS measures. These findings suggest that EMS may be an important area to target when treating youth presenting with psychological distress.
ISSN:0147-5916
1573-2819
DOI:10.1007/s10608-020-10092-6