Examining the Relationship Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Perfectionism in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are the predictors of many personality disorders, resulting in the emergence of characteristics like negative perfectionism. The study was designed to examine the relationship between EMSs and perfectionism in patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD)In the present descriptive correlational study, 70 patients with OCPD admitted to psychiatric and psychological clinics in Yasuj were selected using a simple random sampling method and completed Young Schema Questionnaire – Short Form and the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation tests were used in SPSS 25 to analyze the data.

The range of perfectionism scores of all patients with OCPD examined was between 80-124, and the patients examined had no favorable perfectionism status. The highest range of scores in the dimension of positive dimensions of perfectionism was for personal standards, with a 19-35 range of scores and a standard deviation of 27.99. In the negative dimension of perfectionism, worry about mistakes had the highest range of scores, 18-40, and a standard deviation of 30.40. Among the early maladaptive schemas (EMSs), entitlement/grandiosity (51.4 %), punitiveness (self-sacrifice) (34.3 %), and abandonment/instability (34.3 %) were the variables that had the highest percentage among the patients examined. A direct and significant relationship was found between EMSs and perfectionism (P>0.001, r=0.54).

 EMSs can be the base of many cognitive disorders, such as perfectionism.