Maladaptive Schemas as An Explanation for Gender Differences in Eating Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents

The present study examined gender differences in early maladaptive schemas as an explanation for gender differences in the prevalence of eating disorder symptomatology. A total of 789 adolescents (406 boys and 383 girls) between 11 and 17 years of age (M = 14.51, SD = 1.59) completed both the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-8) to assess eating disorder symptomatology and the Brief Version of the Young Schema Questionnaire for Adolescents and Young Adults (YSQ-3-B) to assess early maladaptive schemas. The results showed that girls had higher early maladaptive schema scores compared to boys, particularly for the disconnection and rejection domain, the impaired autonomy and performance domain, and the other-directedness domain, partially explaining their higher eating disorder symptom scores. The findings of the study are discussed considering the social and patriarchal mandates that exist regarding gender.