Investigation of the relationship between early stage maladaptive schemas and anger levels in people with substance-use disorders

Abstract

Objectives: This study was conducted as a case-control study to investigate the relationship between early stage maladaptive schemas and anger levels in people with and without substance-use disorders. Methods: The sample for the investigation included a case group of 73 patients who presented to a military hospital mental health and diseases polyclinic and a control group of 75 current soldiers and rankers performing military service who presented to the same hospital. Sociodemographic Data Collection Form-1 was applied to the case group and Sociodemographic Data Collection Form-2 was applied to the control group, while the Young Schema Questionnaire Short Form-3 (YSQ-SF3), the State-Trait Anger Scale and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory were applied to both groups. For the evaluation of the data, the chi-square test, Mann Whitney U test and correlation analysis were used. Results: In comparing the case group and control group in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, it was observed that, with the exception of intra-family relationships and family economic status levels, for which significant differences were seen (p<0.05), no statistically significant differences were found (p>0.05). When the schema domains of the case group and control group were evaluated, Disconnection, Impaired Autonomy, High Standards, and Impaired Borders schema domains and subscale components were significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.05). Comparison of the anger styles between the case group and control group showed that those in the case group had significantly higher points in Trait Anger, Anger In and Anger Out than those of the control group (p<0.05). In the correlation analysis performed, a positive moderate relationship was found between Emotional Deprivation and the Self Sacrifice schema sub-scale and Anger In for the case group and control group, while a positive moderate relationship was also found between Approval Seeking, High Standards, Punitiveness and Other-directedness and Trait Anger, Anger In and Anger Out, but a negative weak relation with Anger Control. Conclusion: Evaluation of the study data showed that the case group, which had substance-use disorders, had an excess of early stage maladaptive schemas, and there was a significant level of difference between the case group and control group in terms of anger levels.