One of early maladaptive schemas’ causal relationship through metacognitive beliefs with borderline and antisocial personality patterns

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed at determining the causal relationship of metacognitive beliefs as a mediator between one of early maladaptive schemas including (emotional deprivation, abandonment, mistrust/abuse, social isolation/alienation and defectiveness/shame) and borderline and antisocial personality patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study type has been relational and seeking causal modeling of path analysis has been used. The population used in this study included outpatients in counseling, psychological and psychiatric centers in 2012–2013. We randomly distributed 350 questionnaires in five centers out of three parts in Isfahan, and finally 230 valid questionnaires were evaluated and analyzed. Data collection tool has been Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III's (MCMI-III's) personality questionnaire, Yang's schema questionnaire (75 items), Metacognition Questionnaire-30 (30 items). Reliability of the Yang's Schema Questionnaire in this study was calculated by Cronbach's alpha (α =96%), and that of metacognition was calculated the same way (α =87%). Data analysis has been done using MCMI-III's software for Millon's personality questionnaire, and SPSS-16 and AMOS-18 software. We used path analysis method for testing each model in statistical data analysis. RESULT: The results of this study suggest a possible causal relationship between the number of one of the early maladaptive schemas and the patterns of anti-social and borderline personalities through some metacognitive beliefs. CONCLUSION: This study showed that cognitive beliefs can be activators of the early schema and continuation's coping behaviors in personality patterns.