Young Schema Questionnaire: Review of psychometric and measurement issues

According to Beck’s cognitive theory of depression, the concept of the schema is an important cognitive construct to aid the understanding of depression. Since then, the schema has been accepted as an important construct in other disorders. However, the measurement of schemas remains inconclusive. In 1990, the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) was developed. A number of studies have reported on the psychometric properties of the long and short forms of the YSQ scale. Thus, an aim of the current paper was to review the empirical evidence of psychometric validity, reliability and predictive validity of the YSQ scale for depression. A literature review was undertaken with PsycINFO and Medline from 1990 to 2006, searching for articles reporting the psychometric properties of the YSQ. The YSQ was developed from a clinical perspective for the assessment of early maladaptive schema. At present, although the YSQ-Long Form (YSQ-LF) has been subjected to psychometric evaluation, no consistent factor structures have emerged. The YSQ-Short Form (YSQ-SF) has endured comparatively fewer investigations, although similar findings have been yielded. In addition, it appears that specific schemas possess predictive validity for depression, for example, Shame, Defectiveness, Insufficient Self-Control, Failure to Achieve, and Social Isolation. At present, the YSQ-LF and YSQ-SF are primarily research tools, and further work needs to be conducted on their psychometric properties. Thus, they should be utilised with caution and their relevance to the specific emotional disorder must be considered.