Young Schema Questionnaire: Factor Structure and Specificity in Relation to Anxiety in Chinese Adolescents

The goal of this study was to examine the factor structure of Young Schema Questionnaire-short form (YSQ-SF) in a sample of Chinese adolescents, and to explore which maladaptive schemas were associated with anxiety symptoms.

YSQ-SF was administered to 983 nonclinical Chinese adolescents aged 13-17 years. Confirmatory factor analyses with weighted least squares means and variance adjusted estimation were conducted to examine the factor structure of YSQ-SF. Stepwise regression analyses were performed to identify schemas associated with anxiety symptoms.

A bifactor model with 15 correlated factors fitted the data better than other priori defined models. Stepwise regressions showed Vulnerability to harm, Abandonment, Emotional inhibition, Subjugation, and Unrelenting standards schemas were associated with anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, different anxiety symptoms were associated with common and distinctive schemas.

Maladaptive schemas were already stably formed in Chinese adolescents, however there's no robust evidence for the existence of domain. The explanatory value of maladaptive schemas for understanding psychopathology of anxiety in adolescence is discussed.