Associations between early maladaptive schemas and other-directed interpersonal emotion regulation

Abstract

Although early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are known to affect self-focused emotion regulation and psychological symptoms, little is known about how they are associated with individuals’ emotional behaviors toward others. This study examined the associations between EMSs and other-directed interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). Four hundred Japanese adults (mean age = 40.1 years; 50% female) completed the Young Schema Questionnaire–Short Form and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to examine pathways linking five higher-order EMS domains (i.e., Disconnection and Rejection, Impaired Autonomy and Performance, Other-Directedness, Overvigilance and Inhibition, and Impaired Limits) to three IER strategies (i.e., Positive Reappraisal Support, Emotional Expression Support, and Distraction Support). In the constrained model, Other-Directedness was positively associated with Positive Reappraisal Support and Distraction Support, whereas Overvigilance and Inhibition showed a marginal positive association with Emotional Expression Support. No statistically significant associations were observed for the other EMS domains in this model. However, the full hypothesized model showed a broader pattern of associations across EMS domains, indicating that conclusions regarding domain-specific associations depended in part on model specification. The findings provide evidence linking EMSs to other-directed IER. Interpersonal regulation tendencies appeared to be associated with relational dependency and overcontrol schemas in the constrained model; however, supplementary analyses suggested that the precise pattern of associations depended in part on model specification. These results suggest that EMSs may be relevant beyond self-focused emotion regulation in interpersonal contexts, with potential implications for interventions targeting relational emotion-regulation difficulties.