The Latent Factor Structure of Young's Early Maladaptive Schemas: Are Schemas Organized Into Domains?
- 23 April 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Clinical Psychology
- Vol. 68 (6), 684-698
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21846
Abstract
Objective In previous research it has not been clarified whether the first‐order schema factors of the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) can be structured into higher order domains. We examined whether investigators’ subjective choices between complex models of the YSQ or chance as opposed to clinical diversity of the samples may be responsible for the heterogeneity of results reported in the literature. Method We used confirmatory factor analysis to compare several a priori defined domain models in a sample of 542 undergraduate students (82.8% female; mean age 24.1 years) and 590 nonstudent adults (73.9% female; mean age 34.5 years) form an Internet survey. An additional Monte Carlo simulation study was performed to gain further insights on model selection. Results The analyses did not provide unequivocal support for the presence of a second‐order domain structure. However, study findings suggested that the structure of the YSQ could be represented by a bifactor model including a first‐order generic factor on which all items load and correlated first‐order specific schema factors on which only the items load that were meant to measure the respective schemas. Conclusion In the YSQ either several second‐order domain structures are present that cannot be ranked by statistical measures alone or a first‐order generic factor is present making second‐order domains dispensable. Future research should include theoretical arguments and incorporate the clinical experience of practitioners. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Clin. Psychol. 00:1–15, 2012.Keywords
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- Early Maladaptive Schema Factors, Chronic Pain and Depressiveness: a Study with 271 Chronic Pain Patients and 331 Control ParticipantsClinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2011
- Mediation of early maladaptive schemas between perceptions of parental rearing style and personality disorder symptomsJournal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 2010
- Young Schema Questionnaire: Review of psychometric and measurement issuesAustralian Journal of Psychology, 2007
- Maladaptive schemas in non‐clinical adolescents: relations to perceived parental rearing behaviours, Big Five personality factors and psychopathological symptomsClinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2006
- The Structure of Maladaptive Schemas: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis and a Psychometric Evaluation of Factor-Derived ScalesCognitive Therapy and Research, 2005
- Tools and tenets of schema therapy: toward the construct validity of the early maladaptive schema questionnaire–research version (EMSQ‐R)Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2004
- Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternativesStructural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1999
- Model modifications in covariance structure analysis: The problem of capitalization on chance.Psychological Bulletin, 1992
- Dimensions of personality: 16, 5 or 3?—Criteria for a taxonomic paradigmPersonality and Individual Differences, 1991
- Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states.Psychological Bulletin, 1984