Predicting the Tendency to Vandalism in Delinquents on the Basis of Early Maladaptive Schemas and Social/Emotional Maturity

The aim of the present study was to determine the role of early maladaptive sche - mas, social maturity, and emotional maturity in predicting the tendency to vandalism in delinquent teenagers. The sample consisted of 161 delinquents that had committed vandalism and were selected from among 652 male delinquents residing in correctional and educational centers in Tehran, Guilan, Mazandaran, Ardabil, West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Golestan, and Khorasan provinces. In order to collect data, Nikakhtar’s Vandalism Questionnaire (NVQ), Young Early Maladaptive Schemas Questionnaire (YEMSQ-SF3), Rao Social Maturity Scale (RSMS), and Singh-Bhargava Emotional Matu- rity Scale (S-BEMS) were used. Results of multiple regressions showed that maladaptive schemas and social/emotional maturity variables significantly predict the changes related to vandalism in delinquent teenagers. These findings indicate that the early maladaptive schemas and social/emotional maturity are effective variables in vandalism among delinquent teenagers.