Predicting Bullying and Antisocial Behaviors Based on Early Maladaptive Schemas and Defense Mechanisms in Drug Abusers

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between bullying and antisocial behaviors with early maladaptive schemas and defense mechanisms among drug addicts.

The research method was descriptive-correlation. The study population is all drug users in Tabriz who had referred to addiction treatment centers and public and private camps for treatment. Among them, 381 people were selected by cluster random sampling. Each of the subjects in this study answered the Young Schema questionnaire (short form), the defense styles questionnaire, the bullying scale, and the psychopathy scale. Data were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis.

The results showed that there is a relationship between bullying behaviors and anti-social behaviors with early maladaptive schemas and with defense mechanisms. Accordingly, 23% of bullying behaviors are predicted by early maladaptive schemas and 11% of antisocial behaviors are predicted by these schemas. On the other hand, 9% of bullying behaviors and 12% of anti-social behaviors can be predicted by defense mechanisms.

According to the results, it is possible to predict antisocial and bullying behaviors by identifying early maladaptive schemas and defense mechanisms of drug abusers.