GENDER DIFFERENCE IN EARLY MALADAPTIVE SCHEMAS

In early adulthood, one of the most important need for individual is known to be intimacy. Cognitive theories emphasizes that negative experiences in childhood are internalized as internal working models which contain enduring and resistant negative beliefs about the self, the environment, and other people. These internal working models are called as early maladaptive schemas. Studies suggest that entering a serious relationship or remaining single depends on individuals' early maladaptive schemas. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to investigate the influence of gender on university students' early maladaptive schemas. Participants of this study were composed of 247 Ufuk University students. Participants were selected by purposive sampling method. The Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-S) (Young & Brown, 1994) and demographic information form was used to gather data. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study indicated that significant gender difference on three of the early maladaptive schemas which are emotional deprivation, social isolation and defectiveness.