The role of schemata in responsibility among people with traumatic event history

Abstract

Schemata can be thought of as an abstract cognitive plan that serves as a guide for solving problems and interpreting knowledge. Schemata rooted in the early childhood. Trauma can be defined as events which disrupt the daily routine, develop suddenly and unexpectedly, create horror, anxiety and panic, and disturb the process of making sense of the world. Trauma have an important role in development of early maladaptive schemata. However, after traumatic event exposure it is possible to show psychological improvement, which is entitled as posttraumatic growth. Positive correlation between posttraumatic growth and responsibility has been found in the literature. Responsibility defined as individual's fulfillment of antecedents and consequences of their emotions, cognitions, and behaviors. It was thought that understanding the responsibility could be essential on the way through posttraumatic growth. The role of early maladaptive schemata in responsibility among people with traumatic event history was examined. A cross-sectional paper-pencil format study conducted with 139 participants who reported at least one traumatic event exposure included in the analysis. Informed consent, socio-demographic form, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Young Schema Questionnaire Short Form, the Social Desirability Inventory, and the Responsibility Scale were given to the participants. Correlational analysis shows that responsibility was negatively and significantly correlated with emotional deprivation, failure to achieve, pessimism, mistrust, emotional inhibition, dependence, abandonment, defectiveness, instability, whereas relationship between responsibility and punitiveness was positively and significantly correlated. 2-stepped hierarchical regression analysis run to examine the role of early maladaptive schemata in the prediction of responsibility. Social desirability and positive and negative affect for last six months were entered in the first step. Significantly correlated early maladaptive schemata dimensions with responsibility entered in the second step. Results demonstrated that only punitiveness schema significantly predicted responsibility when controlled for social desirability and positive and negative affect for last six months. Punitiveness accounted for the variance of responsibility with the proportion of 5%. That is, although several schemata are related to the responsibility, only participants who has punitiveness schema feels more responsibility. On the way through posttraumatic growth, having punitiveness schema may be an inhibitor factor. Further studies may consider examining posttraumatic growth as considering the responsibility and early maladaptive schemata.