Early maladaptive schemas and social anxiety in adolescents: The mediating role of anxious ...

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JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288

ContentslistsavailableatSciVerseScienceDirect

Journal of Anxiety Disorders

Early maladaptive schemas and social anxiety in adolescents: The

mediating role of anxious automatic thoughts

EstherCalvetea, ,IzaskunOruea,BenjaminL.Hankinb
∗

aDepartmentofPersonality,PsychologicalAssessmentandTreatment,UniversityofDeusto,Apdo.1,48080Bilbao,Spain
bDenverUniv er sity,Denver, CO

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Articlehistory: Cognitivemodelsstatethatcognitionsareorganizedhierarchically,sothattheunderlyingschemasaffect
Receiv ed24August2012 behaviorv iamore auto mati c,superfici alc ognitivepr ocesses.Thiss tud yaim ed todemons tratethat early
AReccceepivteedd i2n6 r Feevbisreuda rfyor2m0 1233 February 2013 maladapt ive schem as predict anxious au tomatic th oughts, an d to show t hat suc h automatic tho ugh ts act
asmediatorsbetweenschemasandprospectivechangesinsocialanxietysymptoms.Thestudyalsoexam-

inedanalternativereversemodelinwhichschemasactedasmediatorsbetweenautomaticthoughtsand
KEaerylwyomrdasl:adaptiveschemas socia l a nxiety. A to tal of 10 52 ado les cents (499 girls and 5 53 boys; Mag e= 13.43; SDage= 1.2 9) comple ted
measuresofearlymaladaptiveschemas,sociallyanxiousautomaticthoughts,andsocialanxietysymp-
Anxiousautomaticthoughts
tomsatTimes1,2,and3.Theresultsrevealedbidirectionallongitudinalrelationshipsamongschemas
Socialanxiety
Adoles cents and automatic thoughts that were consistent in content (e.g., the disconnection/rejection schemas and
automaticthoughtsofnegativeself-concept).Furthermore,theautomaticthoughtsofanticipatoryneg-

ativeevaluationbyothersatTime2mediatedtherelationshipbetweentheother-directednessschemas

atTime1andsocialanxietysymptomsatTime3.Thesefindingsareconsistentwithhierarchicalcogni-

tivemodelsofsocialanxietygiventhatdeeperschemaspredictmoresurface-levelthoughts.Theyalso

supportthatthesemoresurface-levelthoughtscontributetoperpetuatingschemas.Finally,resultsshow

thatearlymaladaptiveschemasoftheother-directednessdomainplayarelevantroleinthedevelopment

andmaintenanceofsocialanxiety.

© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction havetofacesocialsituationsthatelicittheiranxiousreactionsona

dailybasis,underminingtheirqualityoflife(Beidel&Turner,1998;

Socialanxietydisorder(SAD)isthemostcommonanxietydis- Brozovich&Heimberg,2008;Wittchen,Stein,&Kessler,1999).

orderinthegeneralpopulation(Beidel&Turner,2007;Rosenberg, Cognitive models emphasize the role of cognitive and atten-

Ledley, & Heimberg, 2010; Turner, Johnson, Beidel, Heiser, & tionalbiasesinthemaintenanceofSAD,whichbecomethefocusof

Lydiard,2003).Theonsetisusuallyinadolescence,althoughsome interventions(e.g.,Clark&Wells,1995;Rapee&Heimberg,1997;

studiesindicatethatitcanbediagnosedasearlyas8yearsofage Wells, 1997). According to these models, socially anxious indi-

(Beidel,Turner,&Morris,1999).Epidemiologicalstudiesestimate vidualsarehighlymotivatedtoavoidrejectionandmakeagood

alifetimeprevalenceofSADbetween2%and10%inadolescents impressiononothers(Leary,2001;Leary&Kowalski,1995).How-

(Essau,Conradt,&Petermann1999,Essau,Conradt,&Petermann, ever,atthesametime,theyhaveanegativeviewofthemselves

2002;Kessler,Berglund,Demeler,Jin,Merikangas,&Walters,2005; (Stopa&Clark,2000;Wells,1997),whichleadsthemtoanticipate

Olivaresetal.,2003).Fromadolescence,theprevalenceishigherin thattheirbehaviorwillbeineptorembarrassing(Hofmann,2007).

girlsthaninboysinsamplesofthegeneralpopulation(Olivares, Asaconsequence,theyanticipatethattheywillbenegativelyeval-

Piqueras, & Rosa, 2006). SAD causes numerous problems in var- uatedbyothers(Gros,Simms,Antony,&McCabe,2012;Rapee&

iousspheresoftheindividual’slife,affectinghisorherphysical, Heimberg,1997;Weeksetal.,2005;Wells,1997).Thesenegative

academic, occupational, and social functioning (Beidel & Turner, thoughtsaremaintainedbyattentionalbiases,whichcontributeto

1998;Furmark,2002;Ledley&Heimberg,2006;Stein&Gorman, sociallyanxiousindividualsselectivelyattendingtosocial-threat

2001).Unlikeotheranxietydisordersinwhichtheindividualcan relatedinformation(Ledley&Heimberg,2006).

avoidthesituationprovokinganxiety,sociallyanxiousadolescents Overall, contemporary cognitive models of SAD posit that

sociallyanxiousindividualshavemaladaptiveschemasregarding

themselvesandrelationshipswithothers,whichwhenactivatedin

socialsituationswouldguidetheabovementionedcognitiveand
∗CE-omrraeislpaodnddreinssg: aeustthheorr..c Taelvl.e: t+e3@4d 9e4u4st1o3.e9s00(E0..Calvete). attent ionalproce sses(H eimbe rg,B orzow ich,&Rapee ,2010;Tu rner

0887-6185/$–seefrontmatter© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.02.011
Author's personal copy
E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288 279

etal.,2003).However,incontrastwiththenumerousstudiesthat disconnection/rejection domain includes the defectiveness or

havedocumentedtheroleofsurface-levelcognitionsinSAD,rela- shame schema, which describes the belief that one is defective,

tivelyfewstudieshaveexaminedcognitionsatthemorestableand unwanted, or invalid in significant aspects. The content of this

deeperlevelofschemas(seeforareview,Bodenetal.,2012).The schemaisconsistentwiththenegativeperceptionsoftheselfas

aimofthecurrentstudyistoassesstheextenttowhichtheearly a social object that socially anxious individuals display (Clark &

maladaptiveschemas,derivedfromSchemaTherapy(Young,1990; Wells,1995;Hofmann,2007;Ledley&Heimberg,2006).

Young,Klosko,&Weishaar,2003),contributetoexplainthemain- The domain of impaired autonomy consists of expectations

tenance of SAD through the generation of characteristic anxious about oneself and the environment that interfere with one’s

automaticthoughtsinvolvedinSAD. perceivedcapacitytofunctionindependentlyorperformsuccess-

fully.Itincludesthefailureschema,whichdescribesthebeliefthat

1.1. Earlymaladaptiveschemasandsocialanxiety onehasfailed,willinevitablyfail,orisfundamentallyinadequate

relativetoone’speers,inareasofachievement.Thiscontentiscon-

Beck(1967,1976)proposedtheexistenceofahierarchicalsys- sistentwiththebeliefsofsociallyanxiousindividualsthatothers

temofcognitions,rangingfromsurface-levelautomaticthoughtsto are more socially competent and capable and that they will act

deepercognitiveschemas.Cognitiveschemasare“organizedstruc- awkwardlyinsocialsituations(Turneretal.,2003).

turesofstoredinformationthatcontainindividuals’perceptionsof Finally,theschemaswithinthedomainofother-directedness

selfandothers,goals,expectations,andmemories”(Beck&Dozois, consistofanextremefocusonothers’desires,attheexpenseof

2011,p.398).Theseschemasguidesubsequentsituationalcogni- one’sownneeds.Thisdomainincludestheschemasofsubjugation

tive processes (i.e., attention, interpretation of incoming events, and approval-seeking. Subjugation involves an excessive surren-

andretrievalofstoredinformation),andfinallyresultinautomatic dering of control to others because the individual feels coerced

thoughts.Thisway,althoughautomaticthoughtsaremoresuperfi- ortoavoidrejection.Approval-seekingreflectsanexcessivecon-

cialandproximaltoagivensituation,theyarefunctionallyrelated cernabouttheapprovalofothersandpleasingthem.Thus,these

todeeperschemas(LaGrangeetal.,2011;Pössel,2011). schemas are also consistent with the high motivation of socially

YoungandcolleaguesextendedtheworkofBeckandidentified anxiousindividualstomakeagoodimpressioninothersandavoid

a variety of early maladaptive schemas that are hypothesized to beingrejectedbythem(Leary,2001;Ledley&Heimberg,2006)as

underlie several forms of psychopathology (Young, 1990; Young wellaswiththedesireofaperfectionisticself-presentation(Nepon,

et al., 2003). Early maladaptive schemas are defined as broad, Flett,Hewitt,&Molnar,2011).

dysfunctional, and pervasive patterns consisting of memories, Therefore,earlymaladaptiveschemaswouldguideinformation

emotions,cognitions,andbodilysensationsaboutoneselfandrela- processingwhenindividualsarefacedwithsocialsituations,lead-

tionshipswithothers,developedinchildhoodoradolescence,and ing to characteristic anxious automatic thoughts (e.g., that they

elaboratedthroughoutlifetime(Youngetal.,2003).Theconstruct will fail and will be evaluated negatively for others), which in

ofearlymaladaptiveschemasretainsthecognitiveprocessingcom- turn would provoke anxious reactions. This hypothesis has not

ponent that is central to earlier definitions of cognitive schemas previously been assessed. However, as indirect support for that

(Beck,1967)butplacesmorefocusonthematiccontentandearly hypothesis, Nepon et al. (2011) found that interpersonal rumi-

developmentoftheschemas(Zeigler-Hill,Green,Arnau,Sisemore, nation mediated the link between perfectionistic self-promotion

&Myers,2011). and social anxiety symptoms in a sample of college students.

Young (1990, 1999) grouped schemas into five domains or This study was cross-sectional, so it was not possible to test

broadcategories:disconnection/rejection,impairedautonomyand predictive relationships among variables. However, longitudinal

performance, other-directedness, impaired limits, and overvigi- investigationfocusedonotherpsychologicalproblemshasdemon-

lance and inhibition. Several studies have documented the role strated that schemas guide situational information processing.

oftheseschemadomainsinavarietyofpsychologicaldisorders, For instance, schemas related to violence guide social informa-

such as depression, personality disorders, and eating disorders tionprocessingandthisinturnpredictfutureaggressivebehavior

(e.g., Hinrichsen, Waller, & Emanuelli, 2004; Jovev & Jackson, (Calvete & Orue, 2012a; Zelli, Dodge, Lochman, Laird, & Conduct

2004; Reeves & Taylor, 2007; Riso et al., 2006). In contrast, very ProblemsPrevention,1999).Alsointhefieldofdepression,some

fewstudieshaveexaminedtheirroleinSAD(seeforexceptions, experimentalstudieshaveindicatedthatcognitiveschemas,exper-

Calvete, Orue, Cámara, & Hankin, 2013; Calvete & Orue, 2008; imentallyactivated,guidethesubsequentinformationprocessing

Hinrichsenetal.,2004;Pinto-Gouveia,Castilho,Gallardo,&Cunha, (e.g.,Dozois&Backs-Dermott,2000),andthatruminativethoughts

2006).Overall,thesescarcestudiessuggestthatthemostrelevant mediatebetweencognitiveschemasanddepression(Spasojevic&

schemasforsocialanxietyarethoseofthedisconnection/rejection, Alloy,2001).

impaired autonomy, and other-directedness domains. However, Ontheotherhand,automaticthoughtsinturncouldcontribute

with the exception of the study of Calvete et al. (2013), all of to strengthening schemas. Young et al. (2003) described several

the above studies were cross-sectional, so little is known about mechanismsthroughwhichschemasperpetuate,includingallthe

theprospectivepredictiverelationshipsamongschemasandsocial thoughts, often in form of self-fulfilling prophecies, which end

anxiety. upreinforcingtheschema.Throughnegativeautomaticthoughts,

Howcouldearlymaladaptiveschemasleadtothedevelopment “theindividualmisperceivessituationsinsuchamannerthatthe

andmaintenanceofsocialanxietysymptoms?Thereisremarkable schemaisreinforced,accentuatinginformationthatconfirmsthe

similarity in content between some early maladaptive schemas schema and minimizing or denying information that contradicts

andthosecognitivebiasescharacteristicofsociallyanxiousindi- theschema”(Youngetal.,2003;p.30).Thismechanismwouldcon-

viduals. The disconnection/rejection schema domain includes tributetoaccountforthestabilityofschemasovertime(Rijkeboer,

schemasinvolvingtheexpectationthatone’sneedsforacceptance VandenBergh,&VandenBout,2005;Risoetal.,2006).

and respect will not be predictably fulfilled. As mentioned, fear

ofbeingrejectedandfearofbeingnegativelyevaluatedbyothers 1.2. Overviewofthecurrentstudy

play a central role in the development and maintenance of SAD

(Weeks & Howell, 2012). In social situations socially anxious Thisstudyisbasedontheassumptionthatcognitionsareorga-

individuals anticipate disastrous consequences in terms of loss nizedhierarchically,sothattheunderlyingschemasaffectbehavior

of status and rejection (Clark & Wells, 1995). Furthermore, the via more automatic and surface-level cognitive processes (Beck,
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280 E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288

1967; Beck & Dozois, 2011; Ingram & Kendall, 1986). Namely, with the following distribution: 19.1% low, 17.5% low-medium,

this investigation aimed to demonstrate that early maladaptive 25.8%medium,18.7%high-medium,and18.6%highlevels.

schemaspredictsociallyanxiousautomaticthoughtsamongado-

lescents,andtoshowthatsuchautomaticthoughtsmediatethe 2.2. Instruments

longitudinalassociationbetweenschemasandlaterelevationsof

socialanxietysymptoms.However,asschematheoryinvolvesthe SocialanxietysymptomswereassessedwiththeSocialAnxiety

assumptionthatnegativeautomaticthoughtscontributetorein- ScaleforAdolescents(SAS-A;LaGreca&López,1998).TheSAS-Ais

forceschemas,wealsotestedareversehypothesisincludingpaths aself-reportscaleforadolescentsadaptedbyLaGrecaandLópez

fromnegativeautomaticthoughtstoearlymaladaptiveschemas, (1998)fromtheSAS-Revised(LaGreca&Stone,1993).TheSAS-A

andfromthesetosocialanxiety. contains18itemsintheformofstatementsaboutoneself(e.g.,I

Fromamethodologicalviewpoint,theverificationofamedia- getnervouswhenItalktopeersthatIdon’tknowverywell)thatpar-

tionmechanismhassomeprerequisites.Thefirstisthatthestudy ticipantshavetorespondonascalefrom1(notatall)to5(allthe

shouldbelongitudinal,includingatleastthreewavesofdata.Only time).TheSAS-Aincludesitemsregardingfearofnegativeevalua-

thuswillitbepossibletoconfirmthatthepredictorvariables(e.g., tion,socialavoidanceanddistressspecifictonewsituations,and

earlymaladaptiveschemas)atTime1predictprospectivechange generalsocialavoidance.Ithasobtainedgoodreliabilityandvalid-

inthemediatorvariables(e.g.,anxiousautomaticthoughts)atTime ity(Inderbitzen-Nolan&Walters,2000;LaGreca&López,1998).

2,andthat,inturn,theselatteronespredicttheoutcomevariable TheSpanishversionofthequestionnairehasalsoobtainedgood

(i.e.,socialanxiety)atTime3.Moreover,itisnecessarytocontrol psychometricproperties(Olivaresetal.,2005).Alphacoefficients

forpriormeasurementsofthemediationalvariablesandoutcome inthisstudywere.89and.92and.92forT1,T2,andT3respectively.

variablesinordertoprovidearigorous,exactingtestofmediation Social anxious automatic thoughts were measured by means

(Cole&Maxwell,2003). oftheSocialCognitionsQuestionnaire(SCQ;Wells,Stopa,&Clark,

Weincludedthethreeearlymaladaptiveschemadomains(dis- 1993).TheSCQcomprises22automaticthoughtsaboutsocialsitua-

connection/rejection,impairedautonomy,andother-directedness) tions(e.g.,Iamfoolish;Peoplewon’tbeinterestedinme).Participants

that,accordingtopreviousstudiesandtocognitivemodelsofSAD, ratedthefrequencyofeachthoughtduringthelastweekona1

couldbethemostrelevantforsocialanxietysymptoms.Wealso (never occurs) to 5 (always occurs) scale. The SCQ includes three

includedthreecategoriesofanxiousautomaticthoughts:negative categoriesofautomaticthoughts:negativeself-concept,anticipa-

self-concept,anticipatoryfailureinperformance,andanticipatory toryperformancefailure,andanticipatorynegativeevaluationby

negativeevaluationbyothers. others.TheSCQhasgoodtest–retestreliabilityandinternalcon-

Thestudywasconductedwithasampleofadolescents,akey sistency (Stopa, 1995), and differentiates between high and low

periodtostudysocialanxietyastheonsetofSADisusuallyinado- sociallyanxiousindividuals(Tanner,Stopa,&DeHouwer,2006).

lescence.Adolescentsarefrequentlyencounteringseveralstressful The Spanish version has shown excellent psychometric proper-

socialsituations(e.g.,academic,peersrelationships,andromantic tiesandconfirmationofthethree-factorstructure(Calvete&Orue,

relationships)thatcantriggersocialanxietysymptoms.However, 2012b).Alphacoefficientsinthisstudywere.81,.79and.82for

veryscarceresearchhasexploredcognitivemodelsofSADwithin negativeself-conceptatT1,T2,andT3,.83,.84,and.79forantic-

the adolescent population. Although overall these studies indi- ipatoryperformancefailureatT1,T2andT3,and.82,.81,and.83

catethatsociallyanxiousadolescentsexhibitcognitivebiasesfor foranticipatorynegativeevaluationforT1,T2,andT3.

negativesocialeventsthataresimilartothosedisplayedinadult Cognitive schemas were assessed using the Young Schema

samples(Rheingold,Herbert,&Franklin,2003),Alfano,Beideland Questionnaire-3 (YSQ-3; Young, 2006). The YSQ-3 consists of 90

Turner (2008) found that the characteristic negative self-images itemsandassesses18cognitiveschemas(5itemsperschema).Par-

displayedbysociallyanxiousadultswerenotpresentinsocially ticipantsrateditemsusinga6-pointscalefrom1(completelyuntrue

anxiousadolescents,sothattheyseemedtobeaconsequencemore ofme)to6(describesmeperfectly).InthisstudytheYSQ-3wasused

thananantecedentofSAD.Thesefindingsindicatethenecessityof toassessthedomainsofdisconnection/rejection,impairedauton-

studyingcognitivemechanismsofSADinthisdevelopmentalstage. omy,andother-directedness,whicharethedomainsthathavebeen

Finally,asepidemiologicalstudiesindicatethattheprevalence foundtorelatetosocialanxietyinpreviousstudies(Calveteetal.,

of SAD is higher in girls than in boys (Olivares et al., 2006), we 2013;Hinrichsenetal.,2004;Pinto-Gouveiaetal.,2006).

examinedsexdifferencesintheroleofearlymaladaptiveschemas The domain of disconnection/rejection includes schemas that

andanxiousautomaticthoughtsaspredictorsofsocialanxiety.We involvetheexpectationthatone’sneedsforsecurity,acceptance,

expectedthatsomeofthesepathswouldbestrongeringirlsthan andrespectwillnotbefulfilledinapredictableway.Inthisstudy

inboys. theschemasincludedinthisdomainwereabandonment,mistrust,

emotionaldeprivation,anddefectiveness.Abandonmentrefersto

theperceptionthatsignificantotherswillnotgoongivingemo-

2. Materialandmethods tional support because they will abandon the person in favor of

someone better (e.g., “I need other people so much that I worry

2.1. Participants about losing them). Mistrust describes the expectation that oth-

ers will hurt, abuse, or humiliate (e.g., “I feel that people will

Theinitialsamplewasmadeupof1311adolescents,highschool take advantage of me.”). Defectiveness or shame describes the

students from 51 classrooms of 8 educational centers of Bizkaia feeling that one is defective, unwanted, or invalid in significant

(Spain). Of the 1311 adolescents, 1052 (499 girls and 553 boys) aspects(e.g.,“IfeelthatI’mnotlovable”).Andemotionaldepriva-

completed the measures at the three waves of the study (par- tioninvolvesthebeliefthatotherswillnotadequatelymeetone’s

ticipation rate: 80.24%). The reasons given for almost the entire needofemotionalsupport(e.g.,“Formuchofmylife,Ihaven’tfelt

attritionratewasabsencefromschoolbecauseofillness.Adoles- thatIamspecialtosomeone).

centswerebetween13and17yearsoldatthebeginningofthe The domain of impaired autonomy consists of expectations

study(M=13.43;SD=1.29).Thesocio-economiclevelsweredeter- about oneself and the environment that interfere with one’s

minedapplyingthecriteriarecommendedbytheSpanishSociety perceivedcapacitytofunctionindependentlyorperformsuccess-

ofEpidemiology(2000)andfromtheinformationaboutparental fully. The schemas of this domain included in the present study

educationandincome.Thesocio-economiclevelswererepresented were vulnerability to harm and failure. Vulnerability to harm
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E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288 281

involvesanexaggeratedfearthatrandomcatastrophecouldstrike theoptionofrefusingtoallowtheirson/daughter’sparticipation.

atanytimeandthatonewillbeunabletopreventit(e.g.,“Ican’t Noparentrefusedtoallowtheirchildren’sparticipation.

seem to escape the feeling that something bad is about to hap-

pen.”).Failuredescribesthebeliefthatonehasfailed,willinevitably
3. Results
fail,orisfundamentallyinadequaterelativetoone’speers,inareas

ofachievement(e.g.,“I’mincompetentwhenitcomestoachieve- 3.1. Preliminarydataanalysis

ment”).
Theschemaswithinthedomainofother-directednessconsist
Beforestartingwiththeanalysisofdatawefirsttestedwhether
of an extreme focus on the desires of others, at the expense of
thoseadolescentswhodroppedoutofthestudyafterT1orT2were
one’sownneeds.Theschemasofthisdomainthatwereincluded
significantlydifferentfromthoserespondentswhocompletedthe
inthestudyweresubjugationandapproval-seeking.Subjugation
questionnairesatallthreetimepoints.Resultsshowedthatthere
involvesanexcessivesurrenderingofcontroltoothersbecausethe
werenodifferencesinanyofthevariablesofthestudybetweenthe
individualfeelscoerced,ortoavoidanger,retaliation,orabandon-
1052adolescentswhocompletedthethreewavesandthosewho
ment(e.g.,“IfeelthatIhavenochoicebuttogiveintootherpeople’s
failedtocompletethestudy.Thesepreliminaryanalysessuggest
wishes, or else they will retaliate or reject me in some way”).
thatanymissingdataaremissingatrandom.Pairwisedeletionwas
Approval-seekingreflectsanexcessiveconcernabouttheapproval
usedtohandlethesemissingdataandcaseswithmissingdatawere
ofothersandpleasingthem(e.g.,“IfIdonotreceiveapprovalof
excludedfromthespecificanalyses.
others,Ifeellessimportant”).
Next, we carefully inspected our data for univariate and
The Spanish version of the YSQ-3 has showed good psy-
multivariateoutliers.Univariateoutliersweredefinedasthosepar-
chometric properties, with confirmation of the factor structure ticipantswho scored higherthan 3SDab oveor belowt he mean .No
and adequate alpha coefficients for the scales (Calvete, Orue, &
univariateoutlierswerefound.Moreover,ascreeningformultivari-
Gonzalez-Diez,inpress).Alphacoefficientswere.89,.91,and.91
ateoutlierswasconductedonallresearchvariablesinthemodel
fordisconnection/rejectionatT1,T2,andT3,.81,.84,and.83for
bytheSPSSMahalanobisdistancetest.Nomultivariateoutlierwas
impaired autonomy at T1, T2, and T3, and .86, .86, and .87 for
detected,andthereforethemultivariatenormalityassumptionwas
other-directednessatT1,T2,andT3.
notviolatedinthissample.Finally,thedataexpressedmultivariate

normalitytestedthroughMardia’stestofmultivariatekurtosis.

2.3. Procedure 3.2. Descriptiveanalyses

Theadolescentsfilledinthequestionnairesintheirclassrooms. Table1displayscorrelationsbetweenthevariablesofthestudy,
Thetim eintervalbe tween m eas ureswas6mon ths .The adolescents which w e re statist ically signifi cant in all of the ca ses . Ta ble 2
com plete dmeasu resofso cialanxiet y,an x iousauto ma ticthoughts display sdesc riptivestati stics.Theov er allp re valen ceofc linical ly
and early maladapti ve schem as. In o rder to pair the q uestion- significa ntsocialanx iety,usin gth ecutoff scoreof50 or moreon
nair esofT 1,T2,andT3, acodekn ow nonly by thep artic ipantwas theSAS-A( LaGre ca&Lópe z,199 8),w as25 .8,25. 4,a nd 23 .8%at T1,
used.S om e que stion nai re scou ldnot bepa ire dbe causeofer rors T2, andT3 ,re spectiv e ly.

inthecodesandwerethereforeeliminated;thiscomprisedpart

oftheattritionrate.Participationwasvoluntary.Participantswere 3.3. Measurementmodelofschemadomains,anxiousautomatic

informedthattheirresponseswereconfidentialandwouldonlybe thoughts,andsocialanxiety

readbytheinvestigationteam.TheEthicsCommitteeofUniver-

sityofDeustoapprovedthisstudy.Becausetherewerenostudent 3.3.1. Modelfitofthemeasurementmodels

namesincludedonthesurveys,theschoolstaffchosetocollectpas- Inthefirststep,weexploredthemodelfitofthemeasurement

siveconsentfromparents.Thus,parentswereinformedandgiven model for the latent variables of the study at each of the three

Table1

Mainstatisticsofthevariablesofthestudy.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

T1socialanxiety 1

T1disconnection/rejection .65 1

T1impairedautonomy .47 .70 1

T1other-directedness .68 .79 .62 1

T1negativeself-conceptAT .55 .60 .49 .55 1

T1failureAT .52 .50 .46 .51 .67 1

T1evaluationbyothersAT .64 .61 .47 .62 .74 .72 1

T2socialanxiety .59 .51 .38 .52 .40 .39 .48 1

T2disconnection/rejection .52 .66 .50 .57 .49 .41 .50 .72 1

T2impairedautonomy .41 .54 .66 .46 .42 .40 .42 .58 .76 1

T2other-directedness .53 .58 .44 .65 .45 .42 .51 .74 .83 .67 1

T2negativeself-conceptAT .39 .43 .34 .42 .51 .40 .43 .61 .64 .55 .60 1

T2failureAT .38 .36 .32 .38 .37 .51 .41 .59 .53 .51 .51 .70 1

T2evaluationbyothersAT .47 .48 .35 .50 .46 .46 .54 .70 .67 .54 .66 .78 .74 1

T3socialanxiety .54 .46 .34 .45 .38 .38 .44 .66 .55 .44 .57 .45 .44 .51 1

T3disconnection/rejection .45 .59 .43 .48 .42 .34 .42 .56 .68 .53 .60 .46 .38 .48 .71 1

T3impairedautonomy .32 .45 .55 .37 .34 .31 .32 .40 .54 .66 .47 .38 .35 .36 .53 .72 1

T3other-directedness .47 .53 .39 .56 .44 .40 .46 .59 .61 .47 .68 .48 .42 .52 .74 .81 .64 1

T3negativeself-conceptAT .36 .42 .36 .37 .47 .36 .42 .43 .49 .43 .46 .52 .40 .46 .58 .62 .56 .57 1

T3failureAT .35 .34 .31 .33 .37 .45 .39 .42 .42 .38 .42 .40 .49 .41 .56 .54 .52 .53 .73 1

T3evaluationbyothersAT .43 .42 .34 .42 .44 .38 .48 .51 .51 .43 .52 .47 .43 .53 .65 .63 .54 .64 .79 .75

Note:AT=automaticthoughts.Allcoefficientsaresignificantatp<.001.
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282 E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288

Table2

Sexdifferencesinthevariablesofthestudy.

Girls Boys Totalsample

n=499 n=553

M SD M SD F(1,1051) Cohen’sd M SD

T1socialanxiety 43.00 12.53 39.82 12.86 15.27* 0.25 40.84 13.02
T1 discon nection /rejection 2.42 0.81 2.24 0.83 25* 0.22 2.32 0.83
T1 impairedautonomy 2.63 0.95 2.33 0.90 36** 0.32 2.50 0.95
T1 other-dir ectedness 3.04 0.94 2.73 0.90 45** 0.34 2.84 0.93
T1 self-conceptAT 1.85 0.74 1.66 0.67 17** 0.27 1.76 0.71
T1 failureAT 2.09 0.75 1.81 0.64 45** 0.40 1.94 0.71
T1 negativ ee valuationAT 2.18 0.84 1.92 0.76 32** 0.33 2.03 0.80
T2 socialan xiety 42.24 12.97 38.74 13.43 19** 0.26 40.53 13.80
T2 discon nection/rejection 2.33 0.84 2.15 0.90 14** 0.21 2.24 0.88
T2 impairedautonomy 2.49 1.00 2.28 0.98 16** 0.21 2.38 0.99
T2 other-dir ectedness 2.89 0.99 2.60 0.99 28** 0.29 2.73 1.00

T2self-conceptAT 1.76 0.70 1.68 0.73 5 0.11 1.72 0.74
T2 failureAT 2.00 0.76 1.79 0.69 24 ** 0.29 1.90 0.74
T2 negativ ee valuationAT 2.07 0.80 1.89 0.80 18** 0.23 1.98 0.81
T3 socialan xiety 41.24 12.82 38.37 13.97 12** 0.21 39.70 13.48
T3 discon nection /rejection 2.27 0.86 2.11 0.88 10* 0.18 2.18 0.87
T3 impairedautonomy 2.41 0.97 2.20 0.92 14** 0.22 2.29 0.95
T3 other-dir ectedness 2.79 1.01 2.51 0.97 22** 0.28 2.64 1.00

T3self-conceptAT 1.76 0.74 1.71 0.79 1 0.07 1.73 0.77
T3 failureAT 2.02 0.76 1.83 0.78 18 ** 0.25 1.92 0.78
T3 negativ ee valuationAT 2.07 0.82 1.90 0.81 13** 0.21 1.98 0.82

Note:AT=automaticthoughts.

* p<.01.
** p < .001.

timepoints.Testingthemeasurementmodelisanecessarystep time, we tested the model fit of two alternative models (differ-

thatprovidesabasisagainstwhichmoreparsimoniousstructural inginlevelsofparameterrestrictions)andcomparedthemtoone

modelscanbecompared(Cole&Maxwell,2003).Themodelswere anotherusingthecorrectedChi-squaredifferencetest(Satorra&

tested via maximum likelihood (ML) estimation with LISREL 8.8 Bentler,2001).Theerrortermsofthesamevariableassessedon

(Jöreskog&Sörbom,2006).FollowingtherecommendationsofHu different occasions were conceptualized as correlated with each

and Bentler (1999) for maximum likelihood models obtained in otherbecauseoftheassumptionthatfactorscontributingtomea-

largesamples(N>250),goodnessoffitwasassessedbythecom- surement error in any specific variable will be consistent across

parative fit index (CFI; values of .95 or greater indicate that the measureoccasions(Martens&Haase,2006).

modeladequatelyfitsthedata),thenon-normedfitindex(NNFI; First, we undertook a longitudinal confirmatory factor anal-

valuesof.95orgreaterindicatethatthemodeladequatelyfitsthe ysis, which included all observed and latent variables from

data),andtherootmeansquarederrorofapproximation(RMSEA; each time, with freely estimated parameters. This measurement

valuesof.06orlessindicatethatthemodeladequatelyfitsthedata). modelshowedgoodfitindexes,!2(800,n=1052)=3911,p<.001,

Item-parcels were used as indicators of the latent variables. RMSEA=.05 (90% Confidence Interval: .05; .06), p=1, NNFI=.99,

Three parcels were used as indicators for schema domains CFI=.99.Wecomparedthismodelwithamorerestrictivemodel

and depressive symptoms, following the proposals of Little, in which factor loadings within constructs across the three time

Cunningham, Sahar, and Widamar (2002). However, only two points were specified as equal, !2(800, n=1052)=3936, p<.001,

parcels were used for each category of automatic thoughts due RMSEA=.05 (90% Confidence Interval: .05; .06), p=1, NNFI=.99,

totherelativelysmallnumberofitemsincludedwithineachcat- CFI=.99. This comparison, using the corrected Chi-square dif-

egory of automatic thoughts. The error variances of the parcels ference test showed that the model fit of the more restrictive

werenotallowedtocovaryinanymodel.Ourhypothesizedmodel longitudinalmodelwasnotsignificantlyworsethanthatoftheless

consistedofsevencorrelatedlatentvariablescorrespondingtothe restrictivelongitudinalmodel(specifyingfreelyestimatedparam-

threeschemadomains(disconnection/rejection,impairedauton- eters),"!2(16,n=1052)=25,p=.07.

omy, and other-directedness), the three categories of anxious

automaticthoughts(negativeself-concept,failure,andevaluation

byothers),andsocialanxiety.Thefitindexeswereadequatefor 3.4. Longitudinalrelationshipsamongschemas,automatic

this measurement model at T1 [!2(69, n=1311)=334, p<.001, thoughts,andsocialanxiety

RMSEA=.05(90%ConfidenceInterval:.04;.05),NNFI=.99,CFI=1,

SRMR=.02]atT2[!2(69,n=1201)=470,p<.001,RMSEA=.06(90% 3.4.1. Autoregressivemodel

ConfidenceInterval:.05;.06),NNFI=.99,CFI=.99,andatT3[!2(69, The next step was to test an autoregressive model, which

n=1052)=460,p<.001,RMSEA=.07(90%ConfidenceInterval:.06; includedauto-regressivepathsovertimebetweenthethreecat-

.07), NNFI=.99, CFI=.99]. Thus, these results are consistent with egoriesofanxiousautomaticthoughts,socialanxiety,andschema

schemadomains,automaticthoughts,andsocialanxietysymptoms domains.Thismodelsuggeststhateachconstructisthebestpre-

beingdifferent,albeitrelated,latentconstructs. dictor of itself over time. Overall, the autoregressive paths were

higherforschemadomainsthanforautomaticthoughts(seeFig.1).

The model explained 49, 52, and 51% of the variance of dis-

3.3.2. Establishingmeasurementinvarianceovertime connection/rejection,impairedautonomy,andother-directedness

In the second step, we examined whether the measurement schema domains, and 30, 18, and 33% of negative self-concept,

modelwasequivalentovertime.Todeterminewhetherthemea- failure,andnegativeevaluationbyothersthoughts,respectively.

surementmodelcouldbeconsideredequivalent(orinvariant)over Fit indexes were excellent for the autoregressive model, !2(802,
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E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288 283

0.67(0.02)** 0.74(0.06)**
T1 Social T2Social T3Social

anxiety anxiety anxiety
T1 Self-concept 0.49(0.04)** T2 Self-concept 0.90(0.06)** T3 Se lf-concept
AT AT AT
T1 Failure AT 0.50(0.03)** T2 Failure AT 0.90(0.06)** T3 Fai lure AT
0.11(0.03)** 0.19(0.05)**
T1 0.46(0.04)** T2 0.86(0.05)** T3 autonom
Others AT Others AT Others AT
0.72(0.02)** 0.88(0.03)**
T1 T2 T3
Discconnection Discconnection Discconnection
0.08(0.03)**
T1 0.75(0.02)** T2 0.84(0.03)** T3
autonomy autonomy autonomy

0.17(0.03)**

T1 Other- 0.73(0.02)** T2 Ot her- 0.90(0.03)** T3 Other-
directedness directedness directedness
Fig.1. Hypothesizedmeditationalmodelbetweenschemasdomains,automaticthoughts,andsocialanxiety.Note:Valuesgivenarenonstandardizedcoefficients.Standard

errorsareinparentheses.*p<.05.**p<.001.Cross-laggedpathsarerepresentedinboxes.

n=1052)=2578, p<.001; RMSEA=.04 (90% Confidence Interval: andBolger,theresultsindicatedthattheindirecteffectwassignif-

.04;.04),p=1,NNFI=.99,CFI=.99. icantformediationviaautomaticthoughtsofevaluationbyothers,

Mean=.034,BCbootstrap95%CI=.034–.035.

3.4.2. Hypothesizedmediationalmodel
3.4.3. Reversemediationalmodel
Building on the above autoregressive model, we tested the
modelfitoft heh ypo thesize dmodel,which included pat hsbetw een Ne xt, we e stimated a unidirectional reverse model, in which
T1 sch em a do mains and T2 autom atic t houghts, and between T1 autom ati c thoughts p redicted T2 sch ema do mains, a nd these
T2 automat ic though ts an d T3 social a nxiety. The res ults indi- in turn predi cted T3 so cial anxie ty. This mo del revea led s ignif-
cat edthatT1 other-dire cted nes sschem assigni fican tlypred icted ica nt pa ths from T1 autom atic thou ghts of failu re autom atic to
T2au toma tic thoughtsoffailurea ndevalu ationbyothe rs.T1dis- T2 im paired auto nom y schema s, from T1 au tomati c thoughts of
con nection/re jection sc he mas pr edic ted T2 neg ati ve thou ght s of neg ativeself -conceptto T2discon necti on/ rejections chemas,a nd
self-concept.Oftheth reecateg oriesofaut om aticthoug hts,onlyt he fromT1 automaticth ou ght sofevaluationbyother stoT2ot her-
evaluationby ot her spred ictedT3so ci alanxiety. Noneofth edir ect direc ted nessschem as.Inadd itio n,T2other -di rectedn es ssc hemas
pathsfrom sc hemad omainst os ociala nxietyw eres ign ific ant.A predictedT3 socialanx ie ty.Amore pa rsimoniousmodel wasesti-
more parsim onious model w as estim ated inc luding only signifi - matedinc lud ingon lysignifi ca ntpat hs.Modelfitw asexce llent also
cantp aths.Thefitin dexes were excellent forthismo del, !2(798, forthis model,! 2(798 ,n=1052) =2544 ,p<.00 1; RM SEA=.04( 90%
n=1 052)=2 537 , p <.001; R MSEA =.04 (90 % C onfi dence I nterval: Con fide nceInt erval:.04 ; .0 4),p= 1 ,NNF I= .9 9,CF I=.99.T h esi gnif-
.0 4 ; .04), p =1, N N F I=.99 , CFI=.9 9 . Fi g. 1 d isplays the resulting icanceofth eindirec teffe ctof t h ea utom a tict hou g hts ofne gative
med iation a lm o del. evalua tio non socialan xiety via oth er-directed nesssche m adomain
The sign ificance of the indirect effect of other-directedness was tested by mea ns of a boo tstrapping procedu re. The results
schema s on social a nx iety via autom atic t hou ghts was tested by indic ated th at the ind ire ct effect was sign ificant, Me an=0 28, BC
meansof ab ootstra ppingp roce dure.Inthi sstudy,w ecre ated10 00 bootstrap 95% CI= .027–.02 9. Fig . 2 d isplays the result s of t his
bootstr ap s amplesfromt heoriginal da tase tbyra nd omsam pling model.

withreplacement,andthecovariancematrixwasestimatedfrom

eachsample.Thesecondstepwastoconductthestructuralmodel 3.4.4. Bidirectionalmodel

1000timeswiththese1000bootstrapcovariancestoyield1000 Finally,wecombinedtheaboveunidirectionalmodelswithin

estimationsofeachpathcoefficient.ThethirdstepwastouseLIS- a bidirectional model. The significant paths of this bidirectional

REL’ssavedoutputofthe1,000estimationsofeachpathcoefficient longitudinal model are illustrated in Fig. 3. The relationships

tocalculateanestimateoftheindirecteffect.Thefinalstepwasto betweendisconnection/rejectionschemasandautomaticthoughts

seewhetherthe95%confidenceinterval(CI)fortheestimatedindi- ofnegativeself-concept,andbetweenother-directednessschemas

recteffectincludedzero.AccordingtoShroutandBolger’s(2002) and automatic thoughts of evaluation by others were bidirec-

proposal,anindirecteffectissignificantatthe.05levelifthe95% tional,suggestingthatthesecategoriesofschemasandautomatic

confidenceleveldoesnotincludezero.UsingthecriterionofShrout thoughtsinfluenceeachother.Inaddition,theother-directedness
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284 E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288

T1 Social 0.67(0.02)** T2Social 0.74(0.06)** T3Social
anxiety anxiety anxiety
T1 Self-concept 0.61(0 .03)** T2 Self-c oncept 0.87(0.06)** T3 Self-concept
AT AT AT
T1 Failure AT 0.58(0.03)** T2 Failure AT 0.89(0.06)** T3 Failure AT
0.15(0.04)** 0.13(0.04)**

T1 0.62(0.03)** T2 0.84(0.05)** T3
Others AT Others AT Others AT
0.09(0.04)**

T1 0.61(0.03)** T2 0.88(0.03)** T3
Discconnection Discconnection Discconnection
T1 0.68(0.03)** T2 Impaired 0.83(0.03)** T3 Impaired
Impairedauton autonomy autonomy
0.20(0.04)**

T1 Other- 0.57(0 .03)** T2 Other- 0.91(0.03)** T3 Other-
directedness directedness directedness
Fig.2. Reversemediationalmodelbetweenautomaticthoughts,schemadomainsandsocialanxiety.Note:Valuesgivenarenonstandardizedcoefficients.Standarderrors

areinparentheses.*p<.05.**p<.001.Cross-laggedpathsarerepresentedinboxes.

T1 Social 0.67(0.02)** T2Social 0.74(0.06)** T3 Social
anxiety anxiety anxiety
T1 Self-concept 0.53(0.04)** T2 Self-concept 0.91(0.06)** T3Self-concept
AT AT AT
0.14(0.04)**
0.09(0.03)*
T1 Failure AT 0.52(0.03)** T2 Failure AT 0.92(0.06)**
T3 Failure AT
0.09(0 .04)* 0.22(0 .07)**
T1 0.51(0 .04)** T2 0.87(0.05)** T3
Others AT Others AT Others AT
0.18(0.04)**

T1 T2 0.89(0.03)** T3
0.64(0.03)**
Disconnection Disconnection Disconnection
0.08(0.02)*

T1 0.71(0.03)** T2 0.84(0.03)** T3
Autonomy Autonomy Autonomy
0.14(0.03)**

T1 Other- 0.61(0 .03)** T2 Ot her- 0.92(0.03)** T3 O ther-
directedness
directedness directedness
Fig.3. Bidirectionalmediationalmodelbetweenschemadomains,automaticthoughts,andsocialanxiety.Note:Valuesgivenarenonstandardizedcoefficients.Standard

errorsareinparentheses.*p<.05.**p<.001.Cross-laggedpathsarerepresentedinboxes.
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E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288 285

schemas predicted the increase of automatic thoughts of fail- automatic thoughts when adolescents cope with social scenar-

ure,andthoughtsoffailurepredictedtheworseningofimpaired ios, and at the same time, these automatic thoughts contribute

autonomy schemas. However, only T2 automatic thoughts of to perpetuating maladaptive schemas. These bidirectional rela-

evaluation by others predicted the increase of social anxiety at tionshipswereparticularlyevidentforthedisconnection/rejection

T3. This indicates that when all unidirectional paths are tested schemasandnegativeautomaticthoughtsregardingself-concept,

simultaneously, this category of automatic thoughts mediates ontheonehand,andfortheother-directednessschemasandauto-

the relationship between other-directedness schemas and social maticthoughtsregardingevaluationbyothers,ontheotherhand.

anxiety,butother-directednessschemasdonotmediatetherela- Theseschemadomainsandautomaticthoughtssharesimilarcon-

tionshipbetweenautomaticthoughtsofevaluationbyothersand tent,whichenhancestheirreciprocalrelationship.Thestudyalso

social anxiety. The fit indexes for the bidirectional model were revealedthattheother-directednessschemaspredictedautomatic

!2(795, n=1052)=2508, p<.001; RMSEA=.04 (90% Confidence thoughtsofanticipatoryfailureandthatthesethoughtscontributed

Interval:.04;.04),p=1,NNFI=.99,CFI=.99.Thesignificanceofthe toworseningoftheimpairedautonomyschemas.

indirecteffectviaautomaticthoughtsofevaluationbyotherswas Morespecifically,findingsprovidesupportforthemediational

testedbymeansofabootstrappingprocedure.Theresultsindicated hypothesis that early maladaptive schemas predict prospective

thattheindirecteffectwassignificant,Mean=.036,BCbootstrap change in symptoms of social anxiety via increases in anxious

95%CI=.035–.037. automaticthoughts.Namely,theresultspointtotheschemasof

the other-directedness domain as particularly relevant for social

anxiety. These schemas increase the likelihood that adolescents
3.5. Sexdifferencesinthemediationalmodel
experiencenegativeautomaticthoughtsregardingtheanticipation

thattheywillfailandwillbeevaluatednegativelybyothers,aspects
Thenextstepwastoexaminesexdifferencesintheabovepath-
widelyidentifiedbymostofthecognitivemodelsofsocialanxiety
ways.Table2displayssexdifferencesforallthevariablesinthe
(Grosetal.,2012;Rapee&Heimberg,1997;Stopa&Clark,2000;
study.Adolescentgirlsscoredhigheronallofthevariablesexcept
Weeksetal.,2005;Wells,1997).However,inthisstudy,onlythose
onautomaticthoughtsofnegativeself-conceptatT2andT3.
thoughtsrelatedtoevaluationbyotherspredictedtheincreasein
Weinvestigatedwhetherthecross-laggedpathcoefficientsof
social anxiety at T3, and consequently mediated the association
the bidirectional model were equivalent across boys and girls
betweenschemasandlatersocialanxiety.
through a multiple-group analysis. For this purpose, the follow-
The other-directedness domain includes the schema of
ing steps were carried out. First, we estimated the model for
approval-seeking, which is very similar to the construct of per-
boys and girls separately. The fit indexes were adequate for
boys ,!2(7 95,n= 553)=2184 ,p<. 001 ;RMSEA= .04(9 0%Confide nce fectionistic self-promotion. Nepon et al. (2011) found that those
Interv al:.04; .0 5 ),p= 1 ,NNF I= . 99,CF I=.99, an df orgi rls,!2(795, students who scored high on perfectionistic self-promotion,
consistingofawishtolookperfecttoothers,displayedmoreinter-
n=499)=1714,p<.001;RMSEA=.04(90%ConfidenceInterval:.04;
personalrumination,whichinturnwasassociatedwithsymptoms
.05), p=1, NNFI=.99, CFI=.99. Second, we tested the configural
ofsocialanxiety.However,theirstudywascross-sectional.Thus,
invarianceofthemodeltodemonstratethatthepatternoffixedand
freeparam et ers waseq ui valentacross both su bsample s, !2(15 90, our current study adds predictive validity to the mediational
mechanismsinvolvedinthemaintenanceofsocialanxiety.
N=1052)=3527, p<.001, RMSEA=.04 (90% Confidence Interval:
The other two schema domains did not predict the increase
.04; .05), p=1, NNFI=.99, CFI=.99. Third, we tested whether the
ofsocialanxietyviaautomaticthoughts.Theimpairedautonomy
relativefactorloadingswereequivalentacrossbothsubsamples.
This im positio n increas ed !2 significant ly, "! 2(8, n =1052)=37, schema domain did not predict any category of automatic thoughts
norsocialanxiety.Thedisconnection/rejectionschemaspredicted
p<.001.Anexaminationofthemodificationindexesrevealedthat
anincreaseintheoccurrenceofnegativeautomaticthoughtsabout
the factor loading corresponding to one of the indicators of the
self-concept.However,asthiscategoryofautomaticthoughtsdid
latent variable disconnection/rejection was different across sub-
notpredicttheincreaseinsocialanxiety,itwasnotasignificant
samples. Thus, a partial factorial invariance with this parameter
directorindirecteffectofdisconnection/rejectiononsocialanxi-
freelyestimatedwastested,obtaininganon-significantincrease
of!2, "!2(7,n= 105 2)=13, p=.07.Fin al ly,wetestedth einvari- ety. As previous evidence for the role of the disconnection/rejection
insocialanxietywasobtainedincross-sectionalstudies(Calvete
ance of the cross-lagged paths linking the latent variables over
time. Th is c onstriction di d not increase !2 signific antly, "! 2 (7, & Orue, 2008; Pinto-Gouveia et al., 2006), additional longitudinal
researchisrequiredtoexaminethepredictiveroleofthediscon-
N=1052)=11,p=.14,indicatingthattheoverallpatternofpaths
nection/rejectionschemasinthefieldofsocialanxietyandclarify
wasinvariantbetweenmaleandfemaleadolescents.
thesemixedresults.

Itisimportanttonotethatalthoughthereversemodelindicated
4. Discussion
thattheother-directednessschemasactedasmediatorsbetween

automaticthoughtsandsocialanxiety,thismediationalpathdid
Sociallyanxiousadolescentsexperienceseveralanxiousauto-
not remain significant in the stricter bidirectional model, where
matic thoughts when faced with social situations. The results of
all paths were tested simultaneously. This finding supports our
thisstudyshowthatsomeofthesethoughtsareguidedbydeeper
initialhypothesisthatautomaticthoughtswouldaccountforthe
schemasandthatthoseanxiousautomaticthoughtscontributeto
predictiveassociationbetweenschemasandsocialanxiety.
perpetuatingschemas.Thefindingsemergingfromthisstudyare
Consistent with previous studies (Olivares et al., 2006; Ranta
summarizedbelow.
etal.,2007),girlsdisplayedmoresymptomsofsocialanxietythan

boysaswellashigherscoresonalmostallofthecognitivevari-

4.1. Mediationalpathwaysamongearlymaladaptiveschemas, ables.Nevertheless,thepatternofpredictiveassociationsamong

anxiousautomaticthoughts,andsocialanxiety variableswassimilarforbothgirlsandboys.Thisfindingsuggests

thatthesecognitivevariablesplayasimilarroleinmaintainingand

Oneofthemainfindingsofthisstudyisthattemporalrelation- predictingprospectivecross-laggedsocialanxietyinboysandgirls.

shipsamongearlymaladaptiveschemasandautomaticthoughts Nonetheless,itispossiblethathigherratesofsocialanxietyingirls

are bidirectional. That is, the results suggest that maladaptive are explained by their higher scores on other-directedness

schemasguidecognitiveprocessingresultinginanxiousnegative schemas as well as on anxious automatic thoughts. This
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286 E.Calveteetal./JournalofAnxietyDisorders27 (2013) 278–288

mediational hypothesis for sex differences in social anxiety duringadolescenceasyouthhavebeenshowntobemoreaccu-

shouldbeexaminedinfuturestudies. rate sources of information than parents and teachers regarding

informationabouttheirinnerstates(DiBartolo,Albano,Barlow,&

4.2. Implicationsforthetheory Heimberg,1998).

Asecondlimitationisthatthesampleconsistedexclusivelyof

Findingsofthisstudyhaveimplicationsforcognitivetheories adolescentsinschools,andfuturestudiescanreplicatethestudy

ofpsychopathology(e.g.,Beck,1976;Beck&Dozois,2011)asthey withclinicalpopulations.Itwouldbeinterestingtotestwhether

are consistent with the proposal that cognitions are hierarchi- thedisconnection/rejectionschemadomainplaysasignificantrole

callyorganized.Itisalsoimportanttonotethatthemeasurement inthepredictionofcognitiveprocessesinclinicallysociallyanxious

modelanalysesofthevariablesofthestudycontributedtoestab- adolescents,astheschemasofthisdomaincouldbemoreprobably

lishthatschemas,anxiousautomaticthoughts,andsymptomsof activatedinclinicalsamples.Moreover,theuseofclinicalsamples

social anxiety are distinct but interrelated latent variables (see wouldallowexaminingwhethertheprinciplesofSchemaTherapy

also Calvete & Orue, 2012a, for evidence with violence-related arebeneficialforthetreatmentofsociallyanxiousadolescents.In

schemas). Moreover, the results not only demonstrate the dis- particular,theresultsofthepresentstudysuggestthattheschemas

tinctiveness of the latent variables of the study but also their belongingtotheother-directedness(i.e.,subjugationandapproval-

likelyfunctionalassociations.Namely,deeperschemaspredictthe seeking)shouldbethefocusofinterventions.

occurrence of anxious automatic thoughts, and these automatic Finally,thestudyincludedmeasuresofanxiousthoughtsthat

thoughts, in turn, predict increases in social anxiety symptoms manifestthreetypesofcognitivebiasescharacteristicofsocially

overtime.Thus,thesefindingsindicatethat,althoughautomatic anxious individuals according to the main cognitive models of

thoughts are more superficial and proximal to a given situation, SAD (e.g., Rapee & Heimberg, 1997; Stopa & Clark, 2000; Weeks

they are functionally related to one’s deeper schemas (Beck & etal.,2005;Wells,1997).Nonetheless,furtherresearchisrequired

Dozois,2011),andthattheycanbeinterpretedasthemostproxi- toassessalsoattentionalbiasesasamediatingvariablebetween

malpredictorofsymptomsofdistress(Pössel,2011).Furthermore, schemas and symptoms of social anxiety. This could be tested

findings of this study also revealed that the automatic thoughts experimentallybyexaminingthesebiasesinadolescentswithspe-

resultingfromtheaboveschematicprocessingcontributeinturn cific schemas. Furthermore, as part of these attentional biases,

toperpetuatingschemas,asshownbythesignificantpathsfrom sociallyanxiousindividualsoftenadoptan“observer”perspective

T1automaticthoughtstoT2schemadomains.Therefore,findings andfocustheirattentiononhowtheybelievethattheyarebeing

ofthisstudysupportatransactionalmodelinwhichdifferentcog- perceivedbyothers(Clark,2001).Whentheylookbackonsocialsit-

nitivelevelsinfluenceeachother. uations,theyrememberthemfromthisperspective(Wells,Clark,

The above mechanisms are also important because they sup- &Ahmad,1998).Itwouldbeinterestingtoexaminewhetherearly

porttheassumptionsoftheSchemaTherapy(Youngetal.,2003). maladaptiveschemascontributetoshapethesementalrepresen-

Youngdescribedvariousmechanismsbywhichschemasareper- tations.

petuated. One mechanism is that schemas guide the cognitive Despitetheselimitations,thestudyhasseveralstrengths.This

processingsothattheindividualfocusesonthoseelementsthat isthefirstmultiwavelongitudinalstudytoexaminecross-lagged

confirmtheschemaandminimizeordenyinformationthatcon- relationships among early maladaptive schemas, anxious auto-

tradicttheschema.Regardlessofthevalenceornegativityofthe maticthoughts,andsocialanxietysymptoms.Thedesignhad3time

schema, individuals tend to seek data to confirm and perpetu- points,theindirectpathswereformallytestedviabootstrapping,

atethatschema(Youngetal.,2003).Furthermore,maincognitive and temporal precedence of both the independent and mediat-

modelsofsocialanxietyhavealsodescribedthetendencytoseek ingvariableswasestablished,whichcontributestodemonstrating

information consistent with the fear of negative evaluation and themediationalpathshypothesizedinthestudy.Furthermore,the

with a negative image of oneself (Clark & Wells, 1995; Rapee & studywasconductedwitharepresentativesampleofadolescents

Heimberg,1997).Forexample,sociallyanxiousindividualsmight inthecommunity,whichgivesexternalvaliditytotheresults.As

actually seek out negative information from people with whom mentioned,themajorityoftheresearchoncognitivebiasesinSAD

theyinteract.Theyaremorelikelytoperceiveandattendtoinfor- has been conducted in adult populations and it is important to

mationandcuesthatcouldbeinterpretedassocialfailure,simply identifythecognitivemechanismsthatcontributetothedevelop-

becausetheyaremorecomfortablewiththistypeofinformation mentandmaintenanceofsocialanxietyinadolescence,whenthe

than with incongruent information (Ledley & Heimberg, 2006). averageageofonsetforthisdisorderoccurs.Finally,thefindings

Finally,oncetheindividualsmisperceivesituationsandgenerate haveimportantimplicationsfortheory,astheyareconsistentwith

negativeautomaticthoughts,theseinturnreinforcetheschemas, thehypothesisthatcognitionsarehierarchicallyarrangedsothat

contributingtotheirperpetuation. deeperschemasguideongoingprocessingoperations,andthatthe

resultsoftheseoperationscontributetoworseningschemas(Beck,

4.3. Limitations,strengths,andimplicationsforfutureresearch 1976;Dodge,Coie,&Lynam,2006).

Thisstudyhassomelimitationsthatprovideopportunitiesfor

future research. The main limitation is that it relies exclusively 5. Conclusions

onself-reports,whichmaycauseanincreaseintherelationships

among variables because of shared-methods variance (Kliewer, Tosumup,findingsofthisstudyhavetheoreticalimplications

Lepore, Oskin, & Johnson, 1998). Thus, it would be recommend- as they contribute to demonstrate that deeper schemas predict

able that future studies examine the mediational hypothesis of more surface-level anxious thoughts and these in turn perpetu-

thisstudyincludingreportsofotherstoassesssocialanxiety(e.g., ate schemas. They also suggest that early maladaptive schemas

bymeansofstructureddiagnosticinterviews).However,itisalso oftheother-directednessdomainplayakeyroleinthedevelop-

importanttonotethat,althoughself-reportsraisereliabilityand mentandmaintenanceofsocialanxiety.Still,replicationofthese

validityproblemswhenusedwithyoungchildren,adolescentsusu- resultsfromasamplewithdiagnosesofSADwouldhelptocon-

allyarecapableofansweringself-reportsinavalidandreliableway firm whether these findings apply to adolescents with clinically

(Cunha,Pinto-Gouveia,&Salvador,1998).Moreover,self-reports significantproblemsandtoevaluatetheclinicalimplicationsfor

areprobablythemostvalidmethodtoassessanxietysymptoms interventions.