A Longitudinal Test of the Vulnerability-Stress Model with Early Maladaptive Schemas for Depressive and Social Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescents

This study examined whether some early maladaptive schema (EMS) domains, both alone and moderated by stressors, predict the increase of depressive and social anxiety symptoms in adolescents. A sample of 1281 adolescents (593 girls and 688 boys, Mean Age = 13.61 years) were assessed at three time points separated by 6 months. They completed measures of three domains of the EMS (disconnection/rejection, impaired autonomy, and other-directedness), social and achievement stressors, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety. Latent growth curve modeling was used to test the hypothesis of the study. Findings indicate that disconnection/rejection, impaired autonomy, and other-directedness domains are associated to levels of depressive and social anxiety symptoms and predict a higher stability of depressive symptoms over time. There was no consistent, significant interactions between EMS and stressors in the prediction of symptoms. The only exceptions took place in the subsample of male adolescents, in which social stressors interacted with both disconnection/rejection and other-directedness domains in predicting levels of depressive symptoms. Early maladaptive schemas may be formed by adolescence so that they can predict future depressive and social anxiety symptoms. EMS operate relatively independent of stress levels. Identifying schema profiles has implications for interventions in depression and social anxiety in adolescents.