The Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation in the Relationship of Early Maladaptive Schemas With Spouse Abuse

Objectives This study aimed to examine the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation in the relationship of early maladaptive schemas with spouse abuse. Methods In this descriptive-correlational study, 324 married adults (226 females, 98 males) living in Tehran, Iran in 2017 were selected using a convenience sampling technique. They completed the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2), the Young Scale Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) in AMOS software. Results The results of SEM showed a direct significant path from early maladaptive schemas to cognitive emotional regulation, and from cognitive emotional regulation to spouse abuse. There were also significant indirect paths from the first, second, and third domains of early maladaptive schemas to spouse abuse mediated by negative cognitive emotion regulation strategies with a path coefficients of 0.13, 0.16, and 0.13, respectively. The final structural model was a good-fitting model (X-2/dF=1.595, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.045, Comparative Fit Index =0.953). Conclusion The relationship between early maladaptive schemas and spouse abuse is not linear; it is mediated by cognitive emotion regulation.