Early Maladaptive Schemas in Substance Use Patients and their Intimate Partners: A Preliminary Investigation

Recent research has documented that substance users have a number of early maladaptive schemas that may underlie their substance use and that treatment that addresses these schemas may result in improved outcomes. Research has also shown that intimate partners of substance users have a number of mental and physical health problems, although no known research has examined the early maladaptive schemas of these relationship partners. The current study examined the early maladaptive schemas of substance use treatment patients and their intimate partners (N = 80). Findings showed that both patients and intimate partners had a number of problematic early maladaptive schemas; that patients scored significantly higher than their intimate partners on a few early maladaptive schemas; and that patient and intimate partner schemas may be interrelated. Implications of these findings for treatment and future research are discussed.