Protective and risk pathways between religiosity and early maladaptive schemas in adolescent mental health

Abstract

Religiosity may be linked to psychological functioning, particularly in terms of coping strategies, emotional regulation and the development of cognitive-behavioural patterns. This study examined the relationship between dimensions of religiosity and early maladaptive schemas (EMS) using a quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design. The study involved 360 secondary school students from an educational institution in southern Peru, with a mean age of 15.6 years (SD = 1.05), selected using purposive non-probabilistic sampling. The Young Schema Questionnaire–Short Form (YSQ-SF) and the Age Universal I-E 12 Scale were used. Analyses were conducted using Spearman’s rho. Intrinsic religiosity was negatively correlated with vulnerability to harm and illness (ρ = -0.452; p < 0.001) and entitlement/ grandiosity (ρ = -0.151; p = 0.004), but not with abandonment (ρ = -0.095; p = 0.071). Extrinsic-social religiosity was positively associated with insufficient self-control/discipline (ρ = 0.220; p < 0.001), self-sacrifice (ρ = 0.240; p < 0.001), inflexible standards 2 (ρ = 0.153; p = 0.004) and emotional inhibition (ρ = 0.113; p = 0.032), and negatively with vulnerability to harm and illness (ρ = -0.206; p < 0.001). Extrinsic-personal religiosity was negatively correlated with mistrust/abuse (ρ = -0.114; p = 0.031), vulnerability to harm and illness (ρ = -0.220; p < 0.001) and inflexible standards 1 (ρ = -0.121; p = 0.022), and positively with self-sacrifice (ρ = 0.133; p = 0.011). These findings suggest that religiosity is differentially related to certain EMS, although due to the cross-sectional design it is not possible to establish causal relationships. It is recommended that religiosity be considered as a contextual factor in psychological assessment and educational guidance programmes.