Delaram Salehi - Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Alireza Abedin - Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Mohamad Reza Tavakoli Hassan Abadi - Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Objective: This project aimed to study early maladaptive schemas in adults with parents afflicted with schizophrenia.  Methods: In a causal-comparative study, a sample of ۳۹ adults with one schizophrenic parent as the experiment group and ۴۰ students without schizophrenic parents as the control group were selected. Both groups completed early maladaptive schema questionnaire. Descriptive statistics as well as multi-and single-variable analysis of variance were applied.  Results: Significant differences were found in early maladaptive schemas of rejection/disconnection, impaired autonomy/performance, and over vigilance/inhibitions as well as in the subscales of emotional deprivation, defectiveness/shame, failure, and unrelenting standards.  Conclusion: Feelings of failure and insecurity leads to formation of early maladaptive schemas in children of schizophrenia. The chronicity of schizophrenia, patients’ behavioral difficulties, and stigmatization lead to feelings of defectiveness and lack of security in children and early maladaptive schemas.

A parent with schizophrenia, children, early maladaptive schemas