A comparison of early maladaptive schemas between married individuals with official marriages and single individuals living in cohabitation without legal marriage

A, Mahvelati; M, Abdolfakhrabad

doi:10.61882/jmsthums.13.1.46

Volume 13, Issue 1 (6-2025) jmsthums 2025, 13(1): 46-58 | Back to browse issues page

‎ 10.61882/jmsthums.13.1.46

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A M, M A. A comparison of early maladaptive schemas between married individuals with official marriages and single individuals living in cohabitation without legal marriage. jmsthums 2025; 13 (1) :46-58
URL: http://jms.thums.ac.ir/article-1-1337-en.html

A comparison of early maladaptive schemas between married individuals with official marriages and single individuals living in cohabitation without legal marriage

Mahvelati A¹

, Abdolfakhrabad M¹

1- Department of Psychology and Counseling, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract: (636 Views)

Background & Aim: Recently, there has been a notable shift in values and attitudes among young adults approaching marriage, alongside an increase in the phenomenon of cohabitation without official marriage. This study aimed to compare early maladaptive schemas between officially married individuals and single individuals engaged in cohabitation without formal marriage.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2024 on 128 participants aged 18 to 45 years in Mashhad, Iran, divided equally into two groups: officially married individuals and single individuals cohabiting without official marriage. Convenience sampling was applied for the married group, and purposive sampling for the cohabiting group. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires and the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ; 2014-2018). Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were performed using SPSS version 25 at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: Descriptively, 65.6% of participants were in the married group and 34.4% in the cohabiting group; 82.8% were female and 17.2% male. Inferential analysis showed that the median rank of the healthy adult schema was significantly higher in the married group (median = 78) compared to the cohabiting group (median = 54) (U = 1258, p = 0.001). No significant differences were found between the groups regarding the Child, Dysfunctional Coping, and Dysfunctional Parent schemas (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that the healthy adult schema is more prominent among officially married individuals and may play a critical role in psychological differences between these groups. Strengthening this schema through targeted interventions is recommended for youth counselors and social practitioners.

Keywords: schema mentalities* official marriage* cohabitation (white marriage).

Full-Text [PDF 293 kb] (670 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: General
Received: 2024/09/2 | Accepted: 2024/11/26 | Published: 2025/06/30

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