Evaluation of early maladaptive schemas and domains in social anxiety disorder specifiers and non-clinical samples

Abstract

Objective: Regarding symptoms, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a heterogeneous disorder, and DSM-V defines it with a performance -only specifier. This study aimed to examine early maladaptive schema, the differences in SAD specifiers with the non -clinical samples, and the prediction of early maladaptive schema domains on SAD specifiers' symptom severity. Method: Our sample included 59 patients with performance -only SAD (P -SAD), 61 with unspecified SAD (U -SAD), and 155 individuals in non -clinical samples. We used the Young Schema Questionnaire -Short Form 3 and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale to assess the samples. Results: Our results were remarkable differences in early maladaptive schemas between individuals of SAD's specifiers and non -clinical samples; we also found that although U-SAD's social anxiety severity related to all early maladaptive schema domains, P-SAD's social anxiety severity associated with Disconnection and Rejection and Impaired Autonomy & Performance schema domains. Our clinical findings suggest that the Disconnection and Rejection schema domain is positive, the Excessive Responsibility and Standards schema domain is negatively predicted for P-SAD's social anxiety severity, and the Impaired Autonomy & Performance schema domain is positively predicted for U-SAD's social anxiety severity. Discussion: Early maladaptive schema domains have essential impacts on social anxiety symptoms. Understanding the various early maladaptive schema differences among SAD specifiers and a non -clinical sample and predicting these specifiers' social anxiety symptoms with early maladaptive schema domains might help explain different social anxiety disorders' clinical symptomatology.