Relationship between anxiety disorders in preschool children and maternal early maladaptive schemas

This study examined the relationship between anxiety disorders in preschool children and their mothers' early maladaptive schemas. The sample of the study consisted of 100 children aged 36-72 months (56 girls, 44 boys) and their mothers (36.91±4.86 years) attending a preschool institution. Sociodemographic data form, Anxiety in Preschool Children Scale (AASC) (Parent Form) and Schema Mode Inventory were used to collect data. . As a result of the analysis, general anxiety and early maladaptive schemas of the mother, Fragile Child (r=.427; p<.01), Impulsive Child (r=.238; p<.05), Uncontrolled Child (r=.197; p<. 05), Detached Protective (r=.322; p<.01), Punitive Parent (r=.423; p<.01) schema modes, and negative correlations were found between Happy Child (r=-.378; p<.01) and Healthy Adult (r=-.275; p<.05) schema modes. There was a positive correlation between the child's social anxiety symptoms and the mother's early maladaptive schemas, Fragile Child (r=.218; p<.05) schema mode and a negative correlation between Grandiose (r=-.199; p<.05) schema mode. There was a positive correlation between separation anxiety in the child and the schema modes of Fragile Child (r=.221; p<.05), Uncontrolled Child (r=.245; p<.05), Detached Protective (r=.253; p<.05), Punitive Parent (r=.323; p<.01) and Suspicious Overcontrolling (r=.207; p<.05), which are among the early maladaptive schemas of the mother. There was a positive correlation between the scores of fear of physical harm and the early maladaptive schemas of the mother such as Fragile Child (r=.340; p<.01), Detached Protective (r=.360; p<.01), Punitive Parent (r=.337; p<. 01), Cunning Hunter (r=.204; p<.05) and Skeptical Overcontroller (r=.233; p<.05) schema modes, and a negative correlation was found between the Happy Child (r=-.281; p<.01) schema mode. There was a positive correlation between the symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in the child and the early maladaptive schemas of the mother such as Angry Child (r=249; p<.05), Raging Child (r=.349; p<.01), Impulsive Child (r=.255; p<.05), Grandiose (r=.247; p<.05), Bullying and Aggressive (r=.257; p<. 01), Punitive Parent (r=.423; p<.01), Demanding Parent (r=.246; p<.05), Intrusive and Manipulative (r=.388; p<.01), Cunning Hunter (r=.268; p<.01), Suspicious Overcontrolling (r=.282; p<.01) and Forensic Grandiose (r=.248; p<.05) schema modes. The findings of this study support the view that there may be a relationship between anxiety disorders in preschool children and early maladaptive schemas of mothers.