ItemArticle

Association Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Developmental Crisis Among Young Adults: Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility

Title
Association Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Developmental Crisis Among Young Adults: Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility
Creator
Mishra, Shefali; Ray, Sneha
Description
Background: Analysing the relationship between early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) and developmental crises is critical for advancing targeted interventions; however, the psychological mechanisms underpinning these processes remain largely unexplored. Growing evidence indicates that cognitive flexibility potentially acts as a mediator in this relationship. Purpose: Grounded in the schema therapy conceptual model by Young et al. (2003), the present study investigates the mediating effect of cognitive flexibility between EMS and developmental crisis, offering insights for cognitive-based interventions. Method: A total sample of 200 participants (male = 87, female = 113), aged 1825 years (M = 20.4, SD = 1.84), were recruited using purposive sampling. The Young Schema QuestionnaireShort Form (YSQ-S2), the Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ) and the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS) were administered. Result: Pearson productmoment correlation revealed a positive association between EMS and developmental crises, with the most robust relationship observed for the Disconnection and Rejection domain of EMS. Mediation analysis revealed that cognitive flexibility partially mediates the relationship between EMS 1 and developmental crises, while fully mediates the relationship for EMS 2 and 5 with developmental crises, buffering their impact, thereby reducing developmental crises among young adults. Conclusion: These findings deepen our knowledge of how cognitive patterns influence developmental challenges, delivering practical implications for creating targeted, schema incorporated interventions to strengthen resilience and support mental health in young adults. The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Source
Annals of Neurosciences;
Date
01-01-2025
Publisher
SAGE Publications Inc.
Subject
Cognitive flexibility; developmental crisis; early maladaptive schemas (EMS); young adults
Coverage
Mishra S., Department of Psychology, Christ University, Karnataka, Bengaluru, India; Ray S., Department of Psychology, Christ University, Karnataka, Bengaluru, India
Rights
All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access
Relation
ISSN: 9727531;
Format
online
Language
English
Type
Article

Citation

Mishra, Shefali; Ray, Sneha, “Association Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Developmental Crisis Among Young Adults: Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed June 17, 2026, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/23140.

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