Investigating the Mediating Role of Personality Functions in the Relationship Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Existential Anxiety in Individuals with Depression and Anxiety

The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of personality functions in the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and existential anxiety in individuals with depression and anxiety.

The research was cross-sectional, and the analysis was conducted using correlation methods, specifically structural equation modeling (SEM), and in particular, regression equations. The statistical population of this study consisted of all individuals referring to psychological counseling clinics in Mazandaran province (Sari and Babol) during the summer and autumn 2022. To determine the sample size, considering the number of observed variables and allocating a coefficient of 15 for each observed variable, 600 individuals were selected as the sample size, which were chosen through purposive sampling. For data collection, the Young Schema Questionnaire (2005), the Good and Good Existential Anxiety Questionnaire (1974), and the Costa and McCrae Personality Functioning Questionnaire (1992) were used. SPSS-22 and AMOS-23 software were utilized for data analysis, employing structural equation regression modeling.

The results of the research indicated that there is a direct relationship between early maladaptive schema and existential anxiety. Additionally, there is an indirect relationship between early maladaptive schema and existential anxiety, mediated by personality functions.

Given the findings of the current study, it seems that the psychological organization, along with health and treatment organizations as influential institutions, can provide the necessary conditions for increasing cognitive awareness of early maladaptive schemas and improving coping skills with them.