Early maladaptive schemas in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia: A comparative study

This study aimed to compare early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) among patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, n = 120), bipolar disorder (BD, n = 100), schizophrenia (n = 82), and healthy subjects (n = 60). To collect data, the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were used. The results showed that patients with OCD, BD, and schizophrenia had higher scores on all EMSs than healthy subjects. Patients with OCD had higher scores on all EMSs except for entitlement, insufficient self-control, and mistrust/abuse than individuals with schizophrenia and/or BD. The entitlement and insufficient self-control schemas were higher in BD patients than patients with OCD and schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia scored higher on the mistrust/abuse schema than OCD and BD patients. Similar findings were also reported in subgroups with low and high depression. The findings show that some of the EMSs are specific to OCD, BD, and schizophrenia. Also, patients with OCD, BD, and schizophrenia have the highest numbers of EMSs respectively. In addition, increased depression may activate EMSs in patients with OCD, BD, and schizophrenia.

Automated summary

The study found that patients with OCD, BD, and schizophrenia scored higher on early maladaptive schemas compared to healthy individuals, with variations in specific schemas across different disorders. Additionally, patients with these disorders may experience increased activation of early maladaptive schemas with heightened depression symptoms.