{"paper_id":"34b5dd3d-e27a-469e-94a0-ab51fc281eac","body_text":"Antidepressant treatment modulates early maladaptive schemas in depressive disorder | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Antidepressant treatment modulates early maladaptive schemas in depressive disorder Ahlem Hajri, Sirine Laabidi, Abdennour Karmous, Emira Khelifa, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8460373/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) are considered a vulnerability marker in a wide range of psychological disorders, particularly depressive disorders. This study aims to to evaluate the effects of antidepressant treatment on these cognitive schemas and to study the relationships between EMS and demographic and clinical factors in major depression. Methods: We conducted a three-month prospective study of 80 patients with a major depressive disorder according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V); who were treated with antidepressant medication. EMSs were assessed using the Arabic version of the Young Schema Questionnaire Short Form, and depression severity was measured using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale before and after 3 months of antidepressant treatment. Results: The EMSs with the highest scores in depressed subjects were: self-sacrifice, social isolation, emtional deprivation, and abandonment/instability schemas. After 3 months of antidepressant treatment, mean EMSs scores decreased significantly, with the exception of the Entitlement schema. A linear regression showed that baseline depression severity (Hamilton T0) did not predict changes in EMSs scores, except for the failure s chema. Scores for all EMSs were not correlated with the initial severity of the depressive disorder or its severity after 3 months of treatment. Conclusion: Mean scores for most EMSs decreased significantly after 3 months of antidepressant treatment. These results underscore the importance of additional research on cognitive plasticity of EMSs and the mechanisms underlying treatment effects, which could inform more personalized and effective therapeutic strategies. Health sciences/Diseases Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Medical research Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology early maladaptive schemas cognitions depressive disorder depression antidepressants effects Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-8460373\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":570052790,\"identity\":\"0b73ceaf-da99-4a81-94eb-68c830bc4c3f\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Ahlem 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This study aims to to evaluate the effects of antidepressant treatment on these cognitive schemas and to study the relationships between EMS and demographic and clinical factors in major depression.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eMethods: \\u003c/strong\\u003eWe conducted a three-month prospective study of 80 patients with a major depressive disorder according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V); who were treated with antidepressant medication. EMSs were assessed using the Arabic version of the Young Schema Questionnaire Short Form, and depression severity was measured using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale before and after 3 months of antidepressant treatment.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eResults: \\u003c/strong\\u003eThe EMSs with the highest scores in depressed subjects were: \\u003cem\\u003eself-sacrifice, social isolation, emtional deprivation, and abandonment/instability\\u003c/em\\u003e schemas.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eAfter 3 months of antidepressant treatment, mean EMSs scores decreased significantly, with the exception of the \\u003cem\\u003eEntitlement\\u003c/em\\u003e schema. A linear regression showed that baseline depression severity (Hamilton T0) did not predict changes in EMSs scores, except for the \\u003cem\\u003efailure s\\u003c/em\\u003echema.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eScores for all EMSs were not correlated with the initial severity of the depressive disorder or its severity after 3 months of treatment.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eConclusion: \\u003c/strong\\u003eMean scores for most EMSs decreased significantly after 3 months of antidepressant treatment. These results underscore the importance of additional research on cognitive plasticity of EMSs and the mechanisms underlying treatment effects, which could inform more personalized and effective therapeutic strategies.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"manuscriptTitle\":\"Antidepressant treatment modulates early maladaptive schemas in depressive disorder\",\"msid\":\"\",\"msnumber\":\"\",\"nonDraftVersions\":[{\"code\":1,\"date\":\"2026-01-07 15:26:42\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8460373/v1\",\"editorialEvents\":[{\"type\":\"communityComments\",\"content\":0}],\"status\":\"published\",\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"researchsquare\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"externalIdentity\":\"\",\"sideBox\":\"\",\"snPcode\":\"\",\"submissionUrl\":\"/submission\",\"title\":\"Research Square\",\"twitterHandle\":\"researchsquare\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":false,\"editorialSystem\":\"\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"\",\"inReviewEnabled\":false,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":true}}],\"origin\":\"\",\"ownerIdentity\":\"b21e6e89-ff37-450a-9b8c-0c77f10de40c\",\"owner\":[],\"postedDate\":\"January 7th, 2026\",\"published\":true,\"recentEditorialEvents\":[],\"rejectedJournal\":[],\"revision\":\"\",\"amendment\":\"\",\"status\":\"posted\",\"subjectAreas\":[{\"id\":60656467,\"name\":\"Health sciences/Diseases\"},{\"id\":60656468,\"name\":\"Health sciences/Health care\"},{\"id\":60656469,\"name\":\"Health sciences/Medical research\"},{\"id\":60656470,\"name\":\"Biological sciences/Psychology\"},{\"id\":60656471,\"name\":\"Social science/Psychology\"}],\"tags\":[],\"updatedAt\":\"2026-01-19T10:24:29+00:00\",\"versionOfRecord\":[],\"versionCreatedAt\":\"2026-01-07 15:26:42\",\"video\":\"\",\"vorDoi\":\"\",\"vorDoiUrl\":\"\",\"workflowStages\":[]},\"version\":\"v1\",\"identity\":\"rs-8460373\",\"journalConfig\":\"researchsquare\"},\"__N_SSP\":true},\"page\":\"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]\",\"query\":{\"redirect\":\"/article/rs-8460373\",\"identity\":\"rs-8460373\",\"version\":[\"v1\"]},\"buildId\":\"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd\",\"isFallback\":false,\"isExperimentalCompile\":false,\"dynamicIds\":[84888],\"gssp\":true,\"scriptLoader\":[]}","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}