Predicting the Symptoms of Schizophrenia based on Early Maladaptive Schemas and Dysfunctional Attitudes with the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

According to previous studies, various factors can affect the symptoms of schizophrenia. The present study aimed to predict the symptoms of schizophrenia based on early maladaptive schemas and dysfunctional attitudes with a mediating role of self-esteem. This study is a cross-sectional correlational study using the structural equation model. The sample consisted of 210 patients with schizophrenia who had the conditions to participate in this study. The Young's early maladaptive schemas questionnaire, short form 3 (YSQ-S3), the dysfunctional attitudes scale-26 (DAS-26), the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) were used. To test the research hypotheses, simultaneous multiple regression was performed according to the steps of Baron and Kenny (1986) and the structural equation modeling, along with the mood control of depression. To fit the proposed model of the indices RMSEA, AGFI, CFI were used, and the results were .74, .73, .93, respectively. also Repeated sampling method was used to determine the indirect significance of the mediating variable. the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between early maladaptive schemas, dysfunctional attitudes, and the occurrence of schizophrenia symptoms was confirmed (p<.05). The results of fit indices showed that the designed model has a good fit and is closely related to the hypotheses. Therefore, early maladaptive schemas and dysfunctional attitudes are significant predictors of schizophrenia symptoms both directly and through the mediating role of self-esteem.