The relationship between communication skills and early maladaptive schemas in university students

Introduction: Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs) are emotional and cognitive self-harming patterns formed at the beginning of growth and evolution in mind, and they are repeated and stabilized on the path of life; also, they have a lot of improper functions. This study examined the relationship between communication skills and EMSs in undergraduate students. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical and correlatinal study, using stratified random sampling, 366 participants were selected from students of Islamic Azad University of Rasht in 2019, completed a communication skills questionnaire, demographic questions, as well as the Young Schemas Questionnaire (Early Maladaptive Schemas Questionnaire-short version). Data were then analyzed by SPSS software, t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient methods. Results: The majority of participants were female (79%), single (86.9%), and studying in humanities (73.8%). They aged 18 to 43 years (79.5%). Also, the results indicate a negative relationship between communication skills and EMS, which is statistically significant (P≤ 0.01). Conclusion: Based on the findings, it is concluded that the university students who had more early maladaptive schemas showed poor communication skills.