The relationship between features of alcohol use, early maladaptive schemas and perceived parental attitudes: A controlled study

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between male patients with alcohol use disorder and healthy male controls in terms of early maladaptive schemas, avoidance behaviors and perceived parental attitudes and also to examine the relationships with features of alcohol use in the patient group. Method: The study was carried out with a study group of 92 male patients with alcohol use disorder and a control group of 102 males with no alcohol use. Between the study and control groups no statistically significant difference was found with respect to the mean age (44.04±9.97 and 41.96±11.64, respectively) and the mean years of total education (12.74±4.26 and 12.62±4.05, respectively). The data were collected using the Sociodemographic and Other Information Form, the Young Schema Scale Short Form-3, the Perceived Parental Attitudes Scale, the Young Rygh Avoidance Scale and the Addiction Profile Index. Results: When the two groups were compared in terms of early maladaptive schema scores, it was observed that all sub-dimensions except inhibition of emotions, self-sacrifice, vulnerability to harm and high standards were significantly higher in the group with alcohol use disorder. In terms of perceived parental attitudes, maternal rejection, paternal rejection and maternal overprotectiveness scores were significantly higher in the study group. When compared in terms of avoidance behaviors, it was found that the total avoidance score was higher in the study group. In the study group diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, all schema scores except for the high standards schema were found to be significantly and positively correlated with the severity of addiction. Maternal emotional warmth and paternal emotional warmth scores were negatively associated with the severity of addiction, while maternal overprotectiveness, maternal rejection, and paternal rejection scores were positively associated with the severity of addiction. Among avoidance behaviors, only psychosomatic symptoms were significantly and positively corelated with addiction severity. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that paternal rejection predicted addiction severity. Besides, it was found that early maladaptive schemas played a full mediating role in the relationship between the dimensions of maternal rejection, paternal rejection, maternal overprotectiveness and paternal overprotectiveness and the addiction severity. Conclusion: Among perceived parental attitudes, paternal rejection predicted addiction severity in male patients with alcohol use disorder. Early maladaptive schemas had a full mediating effect in the relationship between maternal rejection, maternal overprotectiveness, paternal rejection and paternal overprotectiveness and addiction severity. Keywords: Alcohol Use Disorder, Early Maladaptive Schemas, Perceived Parental Attitudes, Avoidance-Behavior