Investigation of the multiple relationships between early maladaptive schemas and coping styles with anxiety

Abstract

Aim: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the multiple relationships between early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and coping styles with anxiety. Methods: This was a descriptivecorrelational. Therefore, a study sample consisted of 200 students, from the Islamic Azad University of Karaj, were chosen using multistage cluster sampling method. The research instruments were Beck Anxiety Inventory, a short form of young early maladaptive schema, and short form of the coping inventory for stressful situations. Result: The statistical analysis results indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between EMS and emotion-oriented coping with anxiety, and there was a significant negative relationship between task-oriented copings with anxiety. Moreover, also EMS including mistrust-abuse, vulnerability to harm and illness, and social isolation-alienation were able to predict anxiety. Conclusions: With the increase of mistrust-abuse, the vulnerability to harm and illness and social isolation-alienation, anxiety also increases. The emotion-oriented life style would ease stressful events and has the ability to predict anxiety. In contrast, individuals with task-oriented coping style either overcome the problem or minimize it by managing wants, internal and environmental conflicts, with the change and reform and regulating the source of stress. Thus, it can be concluded that changes in these variables would be associated with changes in anxiety.