Maladaptive Schemas and Affective Control in Students with Learning Disability: Benefits of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

This study intended to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness based cognitive therapy on moderating maladaptive schemas and affective control in students suffering from learning disabilities. This experimental research was conducted using pretest-posttest and a control group. The population included all the female students who were studying in the Koohdasht's middle schools (academic year: 2012-2013). The sample included 40 female students suffering from learning disabilities who had been randomly selected out of Koohdasht's middle school students after identification and a structured clinical interview and they were put into experimental and control groups 20 students each group). For data collection, Affective Control Scale and Young Schema Questionnaire were used. The results of multivariate covariance analysis showed that mindfulness based cognitive therapy has significantly decreased maladaptive schemas, depression, anxiety, and anger in subjects (p<0.001). This finding represents important implications regarding education and mental health improvement in exceptional students. Therefore, it is recommended to use this therapeutic package in schools and clinics as a supplement to other therapies in order to decrease negative emotions and to prevent formation of maladaptive schemas in these students.