Investigating the roles of adverse childhood experiences and father involvement on the transmission of early maladaptive schemas

Schema Theory (Young, 1990) assumes that early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are formed due to unsatisfied core emotional needs in childhood. Surprisingly, there is limited research about the association between parent's EMS and child's EMS. The current study investigated the mechanisms underlying the relationship between the parent's disconnection and rejection schemas and the child's disconnection and rejection schemas. 179 mother-late adolescent dyads participated to the study. 179 late adolescents completed Young Schema Questionnaire- Short Form-3 (YSQ-SF3), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Father Involvement Scale, and Resilience Scale and their mothers completed only YSQ-SF3. The results demonstrated that mothers' EMSs related to disconnection and rejection schema domain significantly predicted their children's EMSs related to the same domain. Adverse childhood experiences also significantly mediated this relationship only when father involvement was low. The current study provides evidence that EMSs are passed on from one generation to the next through adverse childhood experiences especially when fathers do not provide enough support in child rearing. Keywords: Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS), Adverse Childhood Experiences, Father Involvement, Schema Transmission