Autobiographical memories and emotions: an investigation from the perspective of the schema model

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between early maladaptive schemas, schema coping skills, and autobiographical memories in university students. Method: The sample of the study consisted of 162 undergraduate students studying at Hacettepe and Ankara Universities. Data were collected using the Young Schema Questionnaire–Short Form 3 (YSQ-SF3), Young-Rygh Avoidance Inventory (YRAI), Young Compensation Inventory (YCI), and the Autobiographical Memories Questionnaire (AMQ). Results: The relationships between schema domains, schema coping styles, emotional intensity of autobiographical memory, and autobiographical memory characteristics were examined through path analysis and the mediation in the path model was examined with mediation path analysis conducting Bootstrap correction. Model testing revealed that the model fit the data. The model indicated that the disconnection schema domain predicted avoidance, avoidance predicted emotional intensity of autobiographical memory, which in turn predicted autobiographical memory characteristics. Disconnection, impaired limits and unrelenting standards schema domains predicted overcompensation, which predicted autobiographical memory characteristics. Overcompensation mediated the relationships between impaired limits and autobiographical memory characteristics and between unrelenting standards and autobiographical memory characteristics. Conclusion: This study revealed that schema coping styles and emotional intensity played a critical role in the relationships between schema domains and autobiographical memory characteristics.

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