The mediator role of early maladaptive schema domains in relationship between parenting styles and anxiety in clinical and non-clinical adult samples

Throughout this current research, the role of early maladaptive schema domains as a mediator in the relationships between parenting styles and anxiety, was investigated. The participants were between the ages 18 and 65 and consisted of two groups: clinical (616 participants) and non-clinical (600 participants). The data was collected through Young Parenting Inventory, Young Schema Scale Short Fom-3 and Beck Anxiety Inventory. In the first phase of this two-phase study, the factor structure of Young Parenting Inventory and Young Schema Scale were examined and found out that the Young Parenting Inventory had two upper dimensions as obsessive parenting and disparenting while the Young Schema Scale had three upper dimensions as overvigilance, impaired autonomy and disconnection. In the second phase of the study, the research hypothesis "Schema domains have mediator roles in the relationship between parenting style domains and anxiety." was tested through a model which included both the mentioned upper dimensions and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. As a result of the structural equation analysis, it was revealed that the relationship between parenting style and anxiety is realized entirely through the meditation of the overvigilance schema domain in both clinical and non-clinical groups. Additional results were also found on the roles of schema domains as a mediator in relations between parenting style domains and schema domains, schema domains and anxiety, and the schema domains themselves. The findings were discussed in the relevant section in the light of the literature.