The role of cognitive schemas in the relationship between attachment style and emotional intelligence

Abstract

The current study focuses on the idea that the relationship between attachment styles and emotional intelligence can be influenced by cognitive schemas. It is well known that the first interaction between the child and his mother lays the foundations of attachment. The extent to which it develops guides the individual throughout his life making him responsible for his own actions and decisions. In this way studying the three variables becomes the main objective of the study. The data were collected on an online form, using the snowball method by which subjects were able to share the questionnaire to acquaintances to gather a larger number of people. The study was attended by 281 people aged between 18 to 40 years, M = 21.98, SD = 4.10, of which, 52 were males (18.50%) and 229 females (81.50%), 134 were single (47.69%) and 147 were in a relationship (52.31%), 48 people come from single-parent families (17.08%) and 233 come from two-parent families (82.92%). The results were as expected, secure attachment constitutes a significant positive predictor of emotional intelligence while the anxious attachment was a significant negative predictor of emotional intelligence. The results also showed that avoidant attachment would be a significant positive predictor of emotional intelligence. Following the results it was observed that there is a mediation between cognitive schema and the relationship between attachment styles and emotional intelligence. The secure attachment style was significantly negatively associated with all three types of schemas as expected.