Clinical Psychology: Development of Measures for Schema Therapy

Abstract

Schema therapy is a leading contemporary approach to treating mental illness. The therapy integrally uses self-report measures of negative schemas (“long lasting patterns of emotions, cognitions and memories”), and the negative parenting patterns that are linked to the development of these schemas. However, the negative parenting measures are insufficient, and there are no corresponding measures of positive schemas or positive parenting patterns. Study 1 focused on the development of a measure for positive schemas, the Young Positive Schema Questionnaire (YPSQ). Study 2 focused on the development of a measure for positive parenting patterns, the Positive Parenting Schema Inventory (PPSI). Finally, Study 3 empirically showed that the subscales of the Young Parenting Inventory (YPI) were not robust, and it provided a revised alternative (YPI-R2). For all three studies combined, community samples (n = 204 to 628) were collected from five countries in Asia (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines) as well as the United States. The factor structure of the three instruments (the YPSQ, PPSI and YPI-R2) was stable in both Eastern and Western samples (in multigroup confirmatory factor analysis). All three scales showed prediction of mental health over and above what was possible with previous measures (incremental validity). The scales were not simply proxies for previously measured constructs (divergent validity). These scales also demonstrated significant associations with other established measures of parenting (construct validity). They also showed associations with negative schemas, well-being and ill-being (convergent validity). This thesis provides the tools needed to include a focus on positive as well as negative schemas and parenting patterns in both research and clinical practice. It also shows the benefits of so doing.