Temperament, parenting styles and the intensity of early maladaptive schemas: assessment of correlations in a non-clinical adult group

Abstract

Background: Prior research has partially verified the significance of child temperament and styles of upbringing for schema intensity. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the inter-relations between them. Aim: The present study examined how temperament (stable and labile) and style of parenting (positive and negative) are related to each other, and to early maladaptive schemas. Method: Participants (395 healthy adults) completed the Young Schema Questionnaire YSQ-S3 and the Retrospective Assessment of Parents’ Attitudes and Formal Characteristic of Behaviour – Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI). Structural equation modelling was used to verify hypotheses. Results: Temperament and parental styles together explain more than 59% of the variance of schema intensity. The obtained path coefficients show one-way directions of inter-relations. Stable temperament connects to schemas directly with a negative path coefficient. Labile temperament shows a significant positive association with negative parental attitudes, but not directly with schemas. Negative parenting is positively connected with schemas. A positive style of parenting is not significantly connected with temperament and schemas. Conclusions: Results show evidence that negative style of parenting and labile temperament features are more important for schema developing and may be treated as risk factors. Because temperament seems to be a relatively persistent feature, it may play a similar role in adulthood, reinforcing emotions and feelings in the context of environment, and then maintain the schemas.

What role do early life experiences play in eating disorders? The impact of parenting style, temperament and early maladaptive schemas

“…Overall, the hypothesised path model was supported by the results; however, only the model with two temperament factors had sufficient model fit statistics. These findings support previous studies on the connection between perceived parenting style, temperament, EMS and EDs (Bufferd et al, 2022;Festen et al, 2013;Haugh et al, 2017;Mącik, 2021;Peleg et al, 2021).…”

“…Higher levels of maladaptive perceived parenting style predicted higher scores for negative affectivity and lower scores for effortful control. These results support those of previous studies finding that parenting style has an impact on temperament (Festen et al, 2013; Guyer et al, 2015; Haugh et al, 2017; Mącik, 2021; Manfredi et al, 2011; Zhang et al, 2015). Interestingly, scores for the maternal scale of the YPI‐R2 had more impact on temperament and the model than the paternal scale did.…”

“…For example, the nervous system impacts one's reactivity, sensitivity and cognitive processes, while one's social and emotional experiences early in life have a larger influence on their levels of emotionality and sociability (Shiner et al, 2012). Parenting style experienced early in life is considered to contribute to temperament (Haugh et al, 2017; Mącik, 2021), with the two constructs described by Jeffrey Young to interact together and influence the development of EMS (Young et al, 2003). Once fully developed, temperament generally remains stable from adolescence into adulthood (Josefsson et al, 2013; Kopala‐Sibley et al, 2018).…”

“…Although research has explored the relationships between parenting style, temperament and EMS, the interaction between these variables has not yet been established. For example, in a sample of 395 healthy adults, almost 60% of the individual differences in EMS levels were explained by temperament and perceived parental style (Mącik, 2021). Another recent study found significant relationships between parenting style, EMS levels and depressive symptoms in college students (Haugh et al, 2017).…”

Autocratic parenting of a humanoid robot: A QEEG-based case study

“…One of the sources of social adversity in early life can be caused by harsh, inconsistent, insensitive, or hostile upbringing (Lomanowska et al, 2017). These cognitive and emotional effects can be both in the form of primary maladaptive schemas, i.e., from the psychological aspect such as the schema of abandonment, emotional deprivation, deficiency, and shame (Mącik, 2020), and can also be in the form of cognitive and emotional functions of the brain such as the observed problems with memory, attention, concentration, executive functions, mirror neuron function, and empathy (Ramezankhaniet al, 2020). Examining this procedure is very important because according to research conducted, adversity in early life affects maternal behavior in later life, and these effects may persist between generations.…”