Early Maladaptive Schemas as Moderators of the Association between Bullying Victimization and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

This study examined whether early maladaptive schemas (EMS) moderate the predictive association between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in adolescents. For this purpose, a sample of 572 adolescents (314 males; M-age = 15.78, SDage = 0.94) completed measures of bullying victimization and EMS (Disconnection and Rejection, Impaired Autonomy and Other-Directedness domains) at the beginning of the study, and measures of depression in four consecutive waves every 4 months. Latent growth curve modelling was used to test the study hypothesis. The results indicated that both bullying victimization and EMS significantly predict a higher level of depressive symptoms. All schema domains moderated the association between bullying victimization and level of depressive symptoms. In addition, Disconnection and Rejection and Other-Directedness moderated the predictive association between bullying victimization and the trajectory of symptoms. Namely, in adolescents who scored high in theses schema domains, the level of depressive symptoms at T1 and T2 was higher when bullying victimization was high than when it was low. These findings suggest that EMS are relevant and make adolescents vulnerable when faced with bullying victimization.