Early Maladaptive Schemas and Their Impact on Parenting: Do Dysfunctional Schemas Pass Generationally?—A Systematic Review

Abstract

There are several factors that play a key role in the development of early maladaptive schemas, i.e., temperament, unmet core emotional needs, and adverse childhood events (e.g., traumatization and victimization, overindulgence, overprotection). Thus, the parental care that a child experiences has a substantial impact on the potential development of early maladaptive schemas. Negative parenting can range from unconscious neglect to overt abuse. Previous research supports the theoretical concept that there is a clear and close relationship between adverse childhood experiences and the development of early maladaptive schemas. Maternal mental health problems have been proven to be a factor that has strengthened the link between a mother’s history of negative childhood experiences and subsequent negative parenting. Consistent with the theoretical background, early maladaptive schemas are associated with a wide variety of mental health problems. Clear links have been found for EMSs and personality disorders, depression, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In light of these theoretical and clinical connections, we decided to summarize the available literature on the multigenerational transmission of early maladaptive schemas, which is also an introduction to our research project.

The impact of adverse childhood experiences on mental health, sexual risk behaviors, and alcohol consumption in adulthood

“…This has significant practical implications for preventive public policy, as previous studies indicate a potential intergenerational connection between parental early maladaptive schemas and the emergence of similar schemas in their offspring. Recent insights from a systematic review revealed that parents’ disconnection and rejection schemas negatively influence the parent-child bond, impeding effective parenting and elevating the risk of schema transfer ( 57 ).…”

Intergenerational Transmission of Human Parenting Styles to Human–Dog Relationships

“…In this study, participants who experienced authoritarian parenting and held humanistic views compensated by directing permissive parenting towards their dogs (Figure 5). However, it is important to note that the projection and displacement of one's own experiences and needs may hinder caregivers' abilities to recognize and address other's needs and abilities, potentially leading to an inadequate and overprotective parenting style [55].…”

“…Compensation occurs when parents project the unmet needs from their own childhoods onto their children and try to prevent their children from having the same experiences they had [53,54]. This projection of unfulfilled needs might lead to overcompensating and the inability to recognize their child's real needs and temperament, resulting in overcontrolling or overprotective parenting behaviors [54,55]. Such overcompensating parental behaviors also play a pivotal role in the significant association between early maladaptive schemas of parents and their adult children [56], which are self-defeating emotional and cognitive patterns developed in childhood [57].…”

Resilience and Strategic Emotional Intelligence as Mediators between the Disconnection and Rejection Domain and Negative Parenting among Female Intimate Partner Violence Victims

“…Repeatedly, this domain has been identified as the most deleterious in its impact [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Although the majority of studies have retrospectively investigated the relationship between parenting practices and subsequent development of EMS [ 55 ], only a few have examined the impact of EMS on parenting [ 32 ]. Given this, the potential for a direct comparison of our findings in this regard is limited.…”

“…According to Young’s schema theory, the D/R domain is the resultant of the deprivation of the basic emotional needs of a secure, stable, accepting, warm and predictable relationship with caregivers [ 30 ] and is also closely related to the experience of neglect and abuse in the family environment [ 31 ]. Although the evidence base is still limited, the results consistently show that parents who suffer from the severity of the D/R domain are more likely to fail to respond effectively to children’s basic emotional needs, i.e., those that are necessary for harmonious development, which contributes to the intergenerational transmission of harsh and hostile or aggressive parenting [ 32 ]. These findings are also in line with the results of a meta-analysis by Savage et al, which showed a consistent relationship between women’s experiences of being victimized in childhood and their subsequent negative parenting behaviors towards their children [ 33 ].…”