Tools and tenets of schema therapy: toward the construct validity of the early maladaptive schema questionnaire–research version (EMSQ‐R)

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the scale reliability, factor structure, and convergent validity of the Early Maladaptive Schema Questionnaire–Research Version (EMSQ‐R), a 75‐item self‐report inventory that is a revised version of the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) and that measures the presence and severity of 15 early maladaptive schemas (EMS), in an undergraduate sample of 292 participants. Eleven EMS scales were found to have adequate reliability, and 14 hypothesized EMS factors emerged during factor analysis. In addition, findings provided support for the underlying tenets of Schema Therapy (ST), by demonstrating correlations between EMS and measures of both adult attachment and childhood trauma. Future clinical and research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.