Personality disorder (PD) pathology has been linked to early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). Because of a large heterogeneity in study populations, sample size, statistical analyses and conceptualizations in the literature, the exact relationships between PDs and EMSs are still unclear. The current study examined the relationship between borderline, dependent, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive PDs, represented dimensionally as number of traits, and 15 different EMSs as measured by the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ). A total of N = 130 inpatients took part in the study (M age = 43.6, gender = 51.5% female). Stepwise regressions indicated that borderline, dependent, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive PD traits were partly characterized by specific EMSs and EMSs grouped as domains (i.e., other-directedness domain for dependent PD and overvigilance for obsessive-compulsive PD) and that relations with a variety of domains and EMSs were overlapping for the PD dimensions (i.e., disconnection and rejection for both borderline and avoidant PDs). This suggests that PDs are reflected by a hybrid model of EMSs, with some EMSs and domains that relate to a broader vulnerability factor for PDs, and other domains that differentially relate to the independent PDs. Findings are informative for clinicians, as various EMSs per PD may be targeted in therapy. K E Y W O R D S borderline, dimension, early maladaptive schemas, hybrid model, personality disorder 1 | INTRODUCTION Personality disorders (PDs) refer to pervasive, persistent and pathological patterns of perception and behaviour. These patterns deviate from expectations of the individuals' culture and manifest themselves in cognition, affectivity, interpersonal functioning and/or impulse control. Currently, 10 PDs are identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) and indicated by at least four and up to nine features (i.e., 'frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment' or 'chronic feelings of emptiness' for borderline PD, p. 663). Various clinical interventions, including Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy