An Examination of the Structure and Stability of Early Maladaptive Schemas by Means of the Young Schema Questionnaire-3

Abstract

The Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) assesses early maladaptive schemas (EMS) that underlie a variety of psychological disorders. Since its creation by Young, several versions of this questionnaire have been developed. The Young Schema Questionnaire-3 (YSQ-3; Young, 2006 ) adds three new schemas (approval-seeking, punitiveness, and pessimism/negativity) in addition to the previous versions. This study examines the structure, consistency, stability, and concurrent validity of the YSQ-3 in a sample of Spanish students (n = 971, 54% females). The participants completed the YSQ-3 together with measures of depression, social anxiety, and hostility. A subsample of 351 was followed up 6 months later. The results support the structure of 18 EMS for the YSQ-3. However, the results for the second-order structure are mixed. Whereas the disconnection and rejection and the impaired autonomy domains are well supported, evidence for the other domains is limited, and results suggest that these domains may be integrated into one common domain. Finally, consistent with their content, EMS were associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility, and showed relative stability over time.