From Childhood to Adulthood: Exploring the Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas in Child Development and Psychopathology

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About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Extension Submission Deadline 31 March 2025

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Background

Understanding the risk and protective factors for the adaptive development of individuals from childhood to adulthood is important to promote a better quality of life and to implement appropriate prevention and intervention strategies related to psychological distress. Over the past 20 years, beginning with the pioneering work of Young, the literature has begun to examine the so-called early maladaptive schemas (EMS), and how they can be used to understand and promote mental health. Young identifies 18 EMS (grouped into five general domains) and defines them as broad, pervasive themes or patterns composed of memories, emotions, cognitions, and bodily sensations regarding oneself and one's relationship with others. EMS usually develops at a young age following unfulfilling relationships with attachment figures, in which the child's most important emotional needs, such as caring and safety, are not met.

However, research seems to have focused primarily on adult populations. This is a major limitation given that maladaptive schemas emerge in early childhood and tend to strengthen or evolve based on lived experiences in later years and adolescence. The conditions that contribute to the development of EMS are still active at this stage, and it is therefore possible to examine their development and their relationship to EMS and developmental outcomes in loco. In particular, adolescence is an important time to examine the relationship between EMS and developmental processes because it is a critical period for identity construction and is characterized by profound biological, psychological, and relational changes. Moreover, although the evidence about the association between EMS and mental disorders is strong in adulthood, there is still a great need for research on developmental age. Indeed, some EMS might be considered adaptive at certain developmental stages. In addition, it needs to be clarified whether the 18-schema-5 domain model developed in adulthood is also applicable in earlier developmental ages (childhood and adolescence) or whether some adaptations are required. For that reason, it is important to develop appropriate instruments to measure EMS in childhood and adolescence. This is important not only for research on the development of EMS and its impact on the psychological development of individuals but also for clinicians working with children and adolescents. Indeed, EMS is the central construct of schema therapy, a psychotherapeutic treatment that has produced important results in the treatment of various psychopathological conditions in adulthood. Expanding our knowledge of EMS in childhood and adolescence, besides knowing how they are expressed during these developmental stages may therefore be important for refining appropriate prevention, assessment, and intervention strategies for children and adolescents who are at risk of psychological maladjustment or who present with psychological disorders.

Thus, this special research topic aims to stimulate research on EMS in childhood and adolescence and expand our knowledge of the relationship between EMS and developmental outcomes in child and adolescent populations. We invite the submission of empirical research, both qualitative and quantitative, that contributes to the expansion of current knowledge, identifies limitations and critical issues in current research, or offers new ideas and considerations to support future research. Papers that address the development or validation of instruments to measure EMS in childhood, either with normative or clinical samples, are welcomed. Research involving adult populations will be accepted only if the relationship between childhood experiences, EMS, and psychological adjustment in adulthood is examined. In addition, special emphasis will be placed on research contributions from cultural contexts where this field of inquiry has not been adequately explored, as well as contributions that examine EMS from a cross-cultural perspective. In addition to empirical work, theoretical contributions or syntheses of the literature, such as narrative reviews, commentaries, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, will also be accepted, provided they make a concrete contribution to understanding the relationship between EMS and developmental outcomes. Finally, given the centrality of EMS in schema therapy, theoretical and empirical contributions on the application of schema therapy in childhood or adolescence and the mechanisms involved in treatment are welcomed.

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Clinical Trial
  • Conceptual Analysis
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Policy and Practice Reviews
  • Registered Report
  • Review
  • Systematic Review
  • Technology and Code

Keywords: Early Maladaptive Schemas, Schema Therapy, Child Development, Psychological adjustment, Schema

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