Early maladaptive schemas and their relation to personality disorders: A correlational examination in a clinical population.

Personality disorder (PD) pathology has been linked to early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). Because of a large heterogeneity in study populations, sample size, statistical analyses and conceptualizations in the literature, the exact relationships between PDs and EMSs are still unclear. The current study examined the relationship between borderline, dependent, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive PDs, represented dimensionally as number of traits, and 15 different EMSs as measured by the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ). A total of N = 130 inpatients took part in the study (Mage = 43.6, gender = 51.5% female). Stepwise regressions indicated that borderline, dependent, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive PD traits were partly characterized by specific EMSs and EMSs grouped as domains (i.e., other-directedness domain for dependent PD and overvigilance for obsessive-compulsive PD) and that relations with a variety of domains and EMSs were overlapping for the PD dimensions (i.e., disconnection and rejection for both borderline and avoidant PDs). This suggests that PDs are reflected by a hybrid model of EMSs, with some EMSs and domains that relate to a broader vulnerability factor for PDs, and other domains that differentially relate to the independent PDs. Findings are informative for clinicians, as various EMSs per PD may be targeted in therapy.

Emotionally Intelligent People Use More High-Engagement and Less Low-Engagement Processes to Regulate Others' Emotions.

Existing research has linked emotional intelligence (EI) with intrinsic emotion regulation (processes people use to regulate their own emotions). However, there has not yet been an empirical examination of whether EI abilities relate to extrinsic emotion regulation (processes people use to regulate other people's emotions). This study (N = 178 undergraduates) examines whether ability EI (as measured by the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test) correlates with eight extrinsic regulation processes (as measured by the Regulation of Others' Emotions Scale, including downward comparison, expressive suppression, humour, distraction, direct action, reappraisal, receptive listening and valuing). Total ability EI score is significantly positively correlated with three high-engagement processes (r = .24, .40, and .16 for reappraisal, receptive listening, and valuing) and negatively correlated with two low-engagement processes (r = -.30 and -.38 for downward comparison and expressive suppression). When all four EI branches predicted each regulation process in multiple regression, only emotion management significantly predicted downward comparison, receptive listening and valuing, and only emotion management and understanding predicted expressive suppression (no significant regression coefficients for reappraisal). We conclude that the drivers of EI/extrinsic regulation associations are engagement with the target's emotion and the emotion management branch of EI.