Maladaptive emotional schemas as mediators in the link between childhood emotional neglect and affective symptoms in medical students

This study explores the link between childhood emotional neglect and the development of depression and anxiety, focusing on the mediating role of maladaptive emotional schemas. Conducted at the Zahedan Faculty of Medical Sciences, the research involved 273 students who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Leahy Emotional Schemas Questionnaire. Analysis using SPSS v22 and Hayes’ PROCESS Macro revealed that both childhood emotional neglect and maladaptive emotional schemas significantly predict symptoms of depression (adjusted R2=0.32) and anxiety (adjusted R2=0.34). The study confirms that maladaptive emotional schemas mediate the relationship between childhood emotional neglect and mental health issues. This implies that individuals with histories of childhood emotional neglect are more prone to developing maladaptive emotional schemas, which may lead to depression and anxiety. The findings underscore the importance of addressing childhood emotional neglect and maladaptive emotional schemas in therapeutic settings when treating depression and anxiety. The research highlights the need for targeted interventions that consider these factors to mitigate the risk of depression and anxiety in individuals with such backgrounds.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Mental Wellness

• Publication date

  2025-07-29

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.4081/mw.2025.24
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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