Maladaptive schemas, underlying beliefs, and dimensional personality domains: Associations within clinical and student samples

Cognitions, including early maladaptive schemas and dysfunctional beliefs, are highly relevant to psychological disorders. Specifically, research has demonstrated the relationship between schemas, dysfunctional beliefs, and categorical personality disorders (PDs). With the move toward dimensional classifications of PDs, there have also been suggestions for the integration of maladaptive beliefs within these diagnostic systems. The current study examined early maladaptive schemas and dysfunctional beliefs associated with PDs in relation to the Five-Factor Model (FFM), a model similar to the alternative model for PD in DSM-5 Section III. This study extended previous research on maladaptive schemas and personality to assess two different measures of maladaptive beliefs and the FFM personality domains. These relationships were examined in a clinical and student sample. Both measures of maladaptive beliefs converged with the FFM domains. The dysfunctional beliefs appeared to provide more discriminant information compared with the early maladaptive schemas. Differences between samples, relationships, and clinical implications are discussed.