The Relationship Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Alexithymia with Emotional Divorce in Married Women
Keywords:
Early maladaptive schemas, alexithymia, womenAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and alexithymia with emotional divorce in married women.
Methods and Materials: The study employed a descriptive-correlational design. The statistical population consisted of all married women who referred to counseling centers in Tonekabon city in 2025. Using convenience sampling, 232 participants were recruited; after excluding incomplete questionnaires, data from 220 participants were analyzed. Data collection instruments included the Young Schema Questionnaire–Short Form, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Gottman Emotional Divorce Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression analysis with SPSS-26.
Findings: Inferential analyses indicated that early maladaptive schemas and alexithymia were positively and significantly correlated with emotional divorce (p < .01). Among schema domains, disconnection and rejection, other-directedness, and impaired limits showed significant associations with emotional divorce. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that disconnection and rejection entered the model first and significantly predicted emotional divorce. The addition of alexithymia significantly increased the explained variance, followed by other-directedness and impaired limits in subsequent steps. In the final regression model, disconnection and rejection, alexithymia, other-directedness, and impaired limits jointly accounted for approximately one-third of the variance in emotional divorce, with all predictors demonstrating statistically significant standardized regression coefficients (p < .01).
Conclusion: Early maladaptive schemas, particularly disconnection and rejection, together with alexithymia, play a central role in predicting emotional disengagement within marriage, underscoring the importance of integrative schema- and emotion-focused approaches in marital assessment and intervention.
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References
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