International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-020-00067-6

Cross-cultural Validation of the Young Schema

Questionnaire for Adolescents in Portuguese
and Brazilian Samples

Jeane Lessinger Borges 1 & Paula Vagos 2,3 & Débora Dalbosco Dell’Aglio 1,4 &
Daniel Rijo 2

Published online: 21 February 2020

# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

Abstract
This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties and to investigate the cross-
cultural equivalence of the Brief Form of the Young Schema Questionnaire for
Adolescents (B-YSQ-A) in a sample of Portuguese (n = 453) and Brazilian (n = 560)
adolescents. A total of 1013 adolescents aged 14–19 years old (M = 16.61, SD = 1.18)
completed the B-YSQ-A, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale for Adolescents
(DASS) and the Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5). The factor structure of the B-
YSQ-A was investigated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); moreover, mea-
surement invariance across culture and sex was tested. Internal consistency and con-
struct validity of the scale were also analyzed. In line with Young’s schema model, the
CFA supported the existence of 18 early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) assessed via the
B-YSQ-A, which achieved acceptable internal consistency values and validity evidence
based on relations with other variables. Further evidence was found for the adequate
model fitting across sex and culture. The B-YSQ-A seems a valid tool for assessing
EMSs among adolescents across these Portuguese-speaking countries.

Keywords Early maladaptive schemas . Young Schema questionnaire for adolescents .

Confirmatory factor analysis . Cross-cultural research

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-020-

00067-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

* Jeane Lessinger Borges

jeanepsico@yahoo.com.br; jeanepsico07@gmail.com

Paula Vagos
paulaemanuel@gmail.com

Débora Dalbosco Dell’Aglio

dddellaglio@gmail.com

Daniel Rijo
drijo@fpce.uc.pt

Extended author information available on the last page of the article

234 International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

Introduction

One of the critical theories in the study of psychopathology is the Young Schema
Theory (Young 1999; Young et al. 2003). According to this theory, childhood adverse
memories may culminate in the development of early maladaptive schemas (EMSs).
EMSs are defined as pervasive, inflexible, and dysfunctional self-core themes or
patterns consisting of memories, emotions, cognitions, and bodily sensations about
the self and others (Rafaeli et al. 2011; Young 1999; Young et al. 2003). Schemas result
mostly from unmet emotional needs during childhood (connection, acceptance, auton-
omy, limits, and safeness) and have been associated with adverse life experiences in
early phases of development (Young et al. 2003). Schema therapy (ST) focuses on
EMSs as core psychological features that play a crucial role in the development and
maintenance of several psychological disorders including personality disorders and
other psychiatric conditions (Rafaeli et al. 2011; Young et al. 2003). A number of
studies have also reported the associations of childhood adversity and EMSs with
psychopathology (Calvete 2014; Calvete et al. 2018; Lumley and Harkness 2007).
Research findings have shown that EMSs are linked to diverse psychological
disorders in adult life, including adult depression and anxiety (Hawke and
Provencher 2011), obsessive compulsive disorder (Khosravani et al. 2017; Kim et al.
2014;), bipolar disorder (Khosravani et al. 2019a, b), posttraumatic stress disorder
(Harding et al. 2012), substance use (Ravazi et al. 2012; Shorey et al. 2014), antisocial
behavior (Gilbert and Daffern 2013), borderline personality disorder (Barazandeh et al.
2016), and schizophrenia (Azadi et al. 2019; Khosravani et al. 2019a, b). Although ST
was initially proposed to be delivered to chronic adult patients (Masley et al. 2012), its
theoretical framework has been extended to the comprehension of psychopathological
disorders in different stages of the life cycle, including adolescence (Brenning et al.
2012; Calvete 2014; Calvete et al. 2013a, b; Lumley and Harkness 2007; Roelofs et al.
2011). Concurrently, an increasing number of studies have addressed the association
between EMSs and psychopathology in younger individuals, such as depressive and
anxious symptoms (Brenning et al. 2012; Calvete et al. 2013a, b; Mateos-Pérez et al.
2015; Roelofs et al. 2011), eating disorders (Van Vlierberghe et al. 2009; Zhu et al.
2016), aggressive behavior (Calvete 2008; Calvete and Orue 2010), and self-injury
behavior (Quirk et al. 2015). There is now considerable evidence about the association
between EMSs and different forms of psychopathology in adolescents, allowing for
Young’s schema model to be used in the understanding and treatment of both internal-
izing (excessive control of emotions, thoughts and behaviors, for example, social
withdrawal, inhibition, depression, and anxiety) and externalizing (little control of
emotions, thoughts and behaviors, as expressed, for example, in aggression, impulsive
behaviors, and delinquency) symptoms throughout adolescence (Achenbach and
Edelbrock 1978; Nunes et al. 2013).
Young et al. (2003) proposed the existence of 18 EMSs organized into five
developmental schema domains (see Supplementary material 1). In recent years, Young
and colleagues have proposed a revised model in which the 18 EMSs are grouped into
four domains including Disconnection/Rejection, Impaired Autonomy/Performance,
Responsibility/ Standards, and Impaired Limits (Bach, Lockwood, & Young, 2018).
In general, the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) has been used to measure the 18
EMSs. In the last decades, different versions of the YSQ have been proposed, including
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250 235

a long (205 items) version and a short (75 items) version (Young and Brown 1994;
Young 2005). In these versions, the number of items to evaluate each EMS was not
equal (some schemas were measured using three items while others used five items),
with a non-randomized item presentation (for a revision, see Rijo 2009, 2017).
Research has supported the validity of the YSQ as a measure of EMSs in adult
populations and across different cultures, such as Portugal (Rijo 2009), Canada (Hawke
& Provencher 2012), Germany (Kriston et al. 2012), Spain (Calvete et al. 2005),
Colombia (Londono et al. 2012), South Korea and Australia (Baranoff et al. 2006),
China (Cui et al. 2011), Iran (Khosravani et al. 2018), and Brazil (Cazassa and Oliveira
2012). These studies examined the factor structure of the YSQ, and good psychometric
properties have been reported both for clinical (Lee et al. 1999; Welburn et al. 2002)
and non-clinical populations (Calvete et al. 2013a, b; Londono et al. 2012). Although
these findings have indicated a consensus regarding the first-order factor structure
(EMSs), there is some debate on the schema domains (second-order factors; Calvete
et al. 2013a, b; Van Vlierberghe et al. 2010; Welburn et al. 2002).
The Young Schema Questionnaire has also been applied to assess EMSs in studies
on adolescents such as the Young Schema Questionnaire–Standardized items 3rd
Version Revised (YSQ-S3 composed of 90 items assessing 18 EMSs (Calvete et al.
2016, 2015; Saritas and Gençöz 2011)) and an earlier version derived from the Young
Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF; composed of 75 items assessing 15
EMSs (Brenning et al. 2012; Calvete et al. 2013a, b; Lumley and Harkness 2007;
Roelofs et al. 2011; Van Vlierberghe et al. 2010)). Regarding the YSQ-SF adapted for
adolescents, Van Vlierberghe et al. (2010) confirmed the presence of the first-order
factor structure (15 EMSs) in a sample of Belgian adolescents. Saritas and Gençöz
(2011) found that the YSQ-S3 had three separate schema domains including Impaired
Limits/Exaggerated Standards, Disconnection/Rejection, and Impaired Autonomy/
Other Directedness in Turkish adolescents using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). In
short, such versions have been shown to possess psychometric properties that speak in
favor of using the YSQ in adolescents. However, a short version with either 75 or 90
items may still become overly exhaustive for children and adolescents to answer.
In Portugal, Santos et al. (2018) developed and validated a brief version of the
Young Schema Questionnaire for Adolescents, named the B-YSQ-A, adapted from the
items of the YSQ-S3 (Young 2005). The B-YSQ-A consists of 54 items and is
described as a solid measure with three items assessing each of the 18 theoretically
proposed EMSs. The items addressing each schema are presented in a non-consecutive
way in order to reduce possible contamination effects when answering subsequent
items with a similar content. Data analysis for the internal structure, reliability, and
gender-based invariance of the B-YSQ-A has been examined using a non-clinical
sample of Portuguese adolescents (n = 877, 12–18 years). Results provided evidence
for an 18-schema factor structure and for construct validity in relation to internalizing
and externalizing symptomatology and anger expression. Results also showed adequate
levels of internal consistency (alpha coefficients between .67 and .88) for each 3-item
schema measure and test-retest reliability with values ranging from .48 to .77 for the
same measures. In addition, the instrument was presented as gender-invariant, thus
representing the EMSs of boys and girls in a similar way (Santos et al. 2018).
There is no adapted version of the Young Schema Questionnaire for Adolescents in
Brazil. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the cross-cultural equivalence and
236 International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

psychometric properties of the B-YSQ-A for Brazilian and Portuguese adolescents

aged 14 to 19 years old. Although there is an orthographic agreement for the Portu-
guese language among these two countries, Brazil and Portugal have unique cultural
differences. For example, according to Hofstede’s (2018) study on cultural relativity,
both indulgence and masculinity cultural features were higher in Brazilian context,
whereas uncertainty avoidance was higher in Portugal. The presence of different
cultural backgrounds requires a cross-cultural validation (Sousa and Rojjanasrirat
2011) in the case of the B-YSQ-A, including its adaptation to the Brazilian context
and the examination of the psychometric properties of the B-YSQ-A in culturally
diverse samples.
Specific objectives were delineated to accomplish the primary goal of the current
research: (1) to obtain a conceptual equivalence of the B-YSQ-A in two Portuguese
speaking countries (namely Brazil and Portugal); (2) to investigate whether the same 18
EMSs are assessed similarly in Brazilian and Portuguese adolescents, taking gender
differences into account; (3) to examine the reliability and construct validity of the B-
YSQ-A in Brazilian and Portuguese adolescents, considering previous findings that
EMSs are related to internalizing symptoms; and (4) to compare the latent mean for the
endorsement of each schema between Brazilian and Portuguese adolescents, taking
gender into consideration. A similar factor structure of the B-YSQ-A was expected to
be confirmed in both samples, being invariant in relation to sex and country of origin.

Method

Participants

A non-random community sample of 1013 adolescents recruited from school settings,

aged 14 to 19 years (M = 16.61, SD = 1.18), participated in the study (64.7% female,
35.3% male). Table 1 specifies the socio-demographic characteristics of the Brazilian
and Portuguese samples. The Brazilian sample included 560 high school students
(59.8% female), with a mean age of 16.68 years old (SD = 1.20; age range = 14–
19 years), enrolled in ten schools located in a metropolitan region in the South of

Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the Brazilian and Portuguese samples

Brazilian sample (n = 560) Portuguese sample (n = 456)

Age 16.68 (1.20) 16.53 (1.17)

Gender
Male 225 (40.2%) 133 (29.4%)
Female 335 (59.8%) 320 (70.6%)
School year
10th grade 137 (24.5%) 191 (42.1%)
11th grade 229 (40.9%) 110 (24.3%)
12th grade 179 (32.0%) 150 (33.1%)

Results are presented as n(%) for gender and school year and as M(SD) for age
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250 237

Brazil. The mean age for Brazilian girls was 16.96 years (SD = 1.16) and that for
Brazilian boys was 16.50 years (SD = 1.19). As for the Portuguese sample, participants
were 453 adolescents (70.6% female), with a mean age of 16.53 years (SD = 1.17, age
range = 14–19 years) studying in the twelfth grade in high school, located in the central
region of Portugal. The mean age for Portuguese girls was 16.59 years (SD = 1.15) and
that for Portuguese boys was 16.38 years (SD = 1.18).

Instruments

The Young Schema Questionnaire for Adolescents-Brief Form (B-YSQ-A; Santos et al.
2018) This instrument resulted from the selection of three items to measure each of the
18 EMSs (54 items totally) from the Portuguese version of the YSQ-S3, based on
statistical (inter-item and item-total correlations) and theoretical (expert rating of
closeness of content) criteria (Santos et al. 2018). Participants were asked to rate items
using a six-point scale from 1 (has nothing to do with me) to 6 (it is exactly what
happens to me). The items included in the B-YSQ-A were found to adequately
represent their intended constructs (EMSs) via confirmatory factor analysis, and each
schema showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as construct
validity in relation to the measures of internalizing and externalizing psychological
symptoms (Santos et al. 2018). The Brazilian version of the B-YSQ-A was adapted
from the scale’s Portuguese version (see “Phase 1: Cross-cultural Adaptation” section).

The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales1 (DASS-21, original adult version by
Lovibond & Lovibond 1995) The Brazilian version of the DASS-21 developed by
Patias et al. (2016) was used to collect data on the current Brazilian sample. This 21-
item self-report scale assesses depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms experienced
during the last week. Symptoms were assessed on a scale ranging from 0 (did not
happen to me this week) to 3 (it happened to me most of the time of the week). The
Brazilian version showed good internal consistency in a study with 12- to 18-year-old
adolescents (Patias et al. 2016), with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.83 to 0.90. The
CFA indicated the presence of three factors (depression, anxiety, and stress). In the
current Brazilian sample, Cronbach’s alphas of the subscales were α = .88 for depres-
sion, α = .81 for anxiety, and α = .86 for stress.

The Mental Health Inventory 52(MHI-5; Veit and Ware 1983) The Portuguese version
(Pais-Ribeiro 2001) of the scale was used for data collection on the Portuguese sample.
The MHI-5 consists of five items assessing the presence of psychological distress
(anxious and depressive symptomatology) and the absence of well-being during the last
month, using a six-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (always). The MHI-5 has
been found to possess adequate psychometric properties, namely internal consistency
and construct validity, in relation to one’s general perception of health, physical
symptoms, self-concept, and self-efficacy (Pais-Ribeiro 2001). Previous psychometric
research with Portuguese adolescents points to the suitability of two two-factor struc-
tures (the same 5 items may be organized differently according to two independent

1
This instrument was applied only to the Brazilian sample.
2
This instrument was applied only to the Portuguese sample.
238 International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

measurement models). Vagos et al. (2014) proposed that one of these structures
including psychological distress and well-being was in line with the measurement
model that had been previously proposed for this instrument (Ware et al. 1992),
whereas the other one includes depression and anxiety and seems closely related to
the experience of Portuguese adolescents. The internal consistency of these four
measures using the current Portuguese sample was α = .83 for psychological distress,
α = .82 for well-being, α = .84 for depression, and α = .78 for anxiety.

Procedures

Sampling Procedures

Data were collected in two independent cross-sectional surveys (Portugal and Brazil),
using non-randomized community samples; this means that the authors combined
already collected databases post hoc.3 The statistical parameters of at least 10 partic-
ipants per item for multivariate analyses (Hair Jr et al. 2006) were used to estimate each
sample size. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Psychology
of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and by the Ethics Committee of the
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra. Then,
the schools were initially contacted by means of a letter asking for authorization to
invite students to participate in the study. Schools were asked to exclude students
presenting learning disabilities, as it might bias the responses to self-report question-
naires; no other exclusion criteria were considered. All adolescents were recruited
voluntarily for the study, and confidentiality of the collected data was assured. After
an explanation of the study’s goals and procedures, informed consent was obtained
from adolescents and their parents. Participants who were 18 years old or older gave
their own consents. Individual and/or parental consents were taken as an inclusion
criterion.
Participants completed the study protocol during regular classes. Alongside the
assessment instruments, all participants were asked to provide information on their
age, sex, school year, and family features.

Statistical Analyses

The initially collected sample included a total of 1098 participants, of which 85

adolescents presented between 1 and 7 missing values for the B-YSQ-A; such values
were missing completely at random (MCAR = 24.02,26, p = .29). So, for consistency of
sample size throughout the analyses, those participants were excluded from the final
sample, so that the final sample included 1013 participants (cf. “Participants” section).
The measurement model for the B-YSQ-A had been studied in advance (Santos
et al. 2018), and so, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approach was followed in the
current study, which is suitable to examine solid hypotheses about the measurement

3
This was the reason why different instruments were used to collect and analyze construct validity data in
Portugal and Brazil.
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250 239

model of an instrument. Due to time desynchronization in collecting the current

samples versus defining the final constitution of the B-YSQ-A, one of the items used
to gather data in the current study did not entirely correspond to those retained for the
Portuguese final version of the instrument (Santos et al. 2018; i.e., “I can’t let myself
off the hook easily or make excuses for my mistakes”). Consequently, one of the
schemas in the present research (i.e., unrelenting standards/hypercriticalness) was
measured uniquely by two items (i.e., out of the three proposed by Santos et al.
2018), whereas the remaining seventeen schemas were measured by three items each
(for a description of this measurement model, cf. Supplementary material 2).
The 18 first-order schema factors model was tested, given that it was proposed as the
best fitting solution for the B-YSQ-A with adolescent samples (Santos et al. 2018),
concurring with previous works that found conflicting evidence regarding the assess-
ment of schema domains in children and adolescents (Saritas and Gençöz 2011). The
model fit was assessed through the normed chi-square (NC), the root mean square error
of approximation (RMSEA), the comparative fit index (CFI), and the standardized root
mean square residual (SRMR); because the χ2 statistic highly depends on sample size,
it is reported but not given precedence when assessing the models’ fit (Kline 2016;
Schermelleh-Engel et al. 2003). A model’s fit should be considered based on a
combination of indices, so that different dimensions of the fit are considered (Kline
2016; Schermelleh-Engel et al. 2003). As such, Hu and Bentler (1999) suggest
combining a residualbased index (SRMR ≤ .09) with an overall/ absolute index
(RMSEA ≤ .06) or with a parsimony-based index (CFI ≥ .95). Moreover, we considered
NC ≤ 3 as indicative of acceptable fit, as proposed by Schermelleh-Engel et al. (2003).
The same measurement model was then considered for multi-group invariance
analyses based on culture: because there was an unequal distribution of boys and girls
in the Brazilian and Portuguese samples, measurement invariance was tested across the
countries for boys and girls separately (Portuguese girls were compared with Brazilian
girls and Portuguese boys also were compared with Brazilian boys). Three levels of
measurement invariance were sequentially considered, as defined by Dimitrov (2010):
(1) configural invariance, meaning that the same measurement model should fit
acceptably to the samples under analysis when all parameters are allowed to differ
between groups; (2) metric invariance, meaning that imposing an equality constraint on
the item’s loading values across samples should not significantly worsen the fit of the
model (ΔCFI ≤ − .01 combined either with a ΔSRMR ≤ .03 or with a ΔRMSEA
≤ .015; Chen 2007); and (3) scalar invariance, meaning that imposing an additional
equality constraint on the item’s intercept values across samples should not significant-
ly worsen the fit of the model (ΔCFI ≤ − .01 combined either with a ΔSRMR ≤ .01 or
with a ΔRMSEA ≤ .015; Chen 2007). Latent mean comparisons were then carried out
in order to test the differences between boys and girls from the two countries; because
multiple comparisons would be carried out, an adjusted p value of 0.0027 (i.e., 0.05/18)
was considered. The CFA and multi-group analyses were conducted using the Mplus
v7.4 software (Muthén and Muthén 2012).
Internal consistency was analyzed based on the ordinal version of Cronbach’s alpha,
which is suitable when the answering scale is of an ordinal nature (Gaderman et al.
2012) and was computed in the R Studio software (R Studio Team 2015). Because this
statistic is dependent on the number of items (scales with less items are expected to
present lower values; Streiner 2003), a lenient approach was adopted and α ≥ .60 was
240 International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

considered acceptable; this cutoff value is also considered acceptable when dealing
with research questions (versus clinical issues), which is the case with the current
research (Nunnally 1978). Evidence was sought for validity based on relations to other
variables for standardized regression coefficients taken from seven multiple regression
analyses that considered all 18 schemas as independent variables and each measure of
psychological symptoms (anxious, stress, and depressive symptoms) and psychological
well-being as dependent variables. These analyses were carried out using the IBM
SPSS Statistics 21.

Results

Phase 1: Cross-cultural Adaptation

This study adopted the methodological approaches for translating, adapting, and validat-
ing instruments or scales for use in a cross-cultural research (Sousa and Rojjanasrirat
2011). The Brazilian version of the instrument resulted from an adaptation of the
Portuguese version of the B-YSQ-A (cf. Supplementary material 3), which required some
items to be culturally adapted. Items were then submitted to an analysis of equivalence by
a team of two native speakers in Portuguese from Brazil, both of them experts in
adolescent psychology, in order to increase the comprehensibility of the Brazilian version
(semantic and conceptual equivalence). These experts proposed modifications in 13 items.
For instance, in item 21, the expression “Dá-me mais gozo conquistar algo se isso for uma
coisa em que os outros reparem” (the original B-YSQ-A) was considered to be possibly
interpreted as having a sexual undertone and so it was replaced by “Eu terei mais prazer
em conquistar algo se isso for uma coisa que os outros vão notar” (in the YSQ-S3,
English version, “Accomplishments are most valuable to me if other people notice them”).
The next step included a review of those 13 items by a bilingual judge (native from
Portugal and fluently speaking Brazilian Portuguese), who was blind to the original
instrument; no further changes were deemed necessary. Lastly, 15 adolescents from a
public school were asked to evaluate the instrument via thinking aloud, and new sugges-
tions for the semantic comprehension of the items were adopted. This process resulted in
the final Brazilian version of the B-YSQ-A used in the current study.

Phase 2: Cross-cultural Validation

Preliminary results indicated that the data for the 1013 participants deviated from a
multivariate normal distribution, according to Mardia’s multivariate normality test
(Skewness = 333.14, p < .001; Kurtosis = 3479.52, p < .001). As such, the Maximum
Likelihood Robust estimator was used for all confirmatory factor analyses and multi-
group analyses displayed below.

Factorial Validity and Multi-group Analyses

The 18-schema factor model achieved acceptable fit indicators (cf. Table 2). Loading values
were always significant (p < .001; cf. Supplementary material 2), ranging from .376 for item
45 of the Failure schema to .857 for item 25 of the Social Isolation/Alienation schema.
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250 241

Table 2 Fit indicators for the alternative measurement models and for measurement invariance analyses

χ2 Df NC RMSEA 90% CI for RMSEA CFI SRMR

Model 1: 18 schemas 2596.98* 1172 2.22 0.035 0.033; 0.036 0.903 0.045
Male sample
Unconstraint model 3831.58* 2344 1.63 0.060 0.057; 0.064 0.789 0.070
Loading constraint model 3875.25* 2379 1.63 0.059 0.056; 0.063 0.792 0.071
Intercept constraint model 3978.36* 2414 1.65 0.060 0.057; 0.063 0.782 0.072
Female sample
Unconstraint model 3613.00* 2344 1.54 0.041 0.038; 0.043 0.883 0.055
Loading constraint model 3652.36* 2379 1.54 0.040 0.038; 0.043 0.882 0.057
Intercept constraint model 3832.10* 2414 1.59 0.042 0.040; 0.045 0.869 0.058
Partial intercept constraint model 3802.67* 2413 1.58 0.042 0.039; 0.044 0.872 0.057

χ2 chi-square, df degrees of freedom, NC normed chi-square (i.e., χ2 /df), RMSEA root mean square error of
approximation, CI confidence interval, CFI comparative fit index, SRMR standardized root mean square
residual
*p < .001

The 18-schema measurement model achieved a good fit when considering Brazilian and
Portuguese boys simultaneously, pointing to configural invariance (cf. Table 2). Loading
values varied from .468 (item 14) to .864 (item 39), for Brazilian boys. For Portuguese boys,
loading values varied from .297 (item 5) to .886 (item 37). Moreover, full metric (ΔCFI =
.003, ΔRMSEA = − .001, ΔSRMR = .001) and full scalar (ΔCFI = − .01, ΔRMSEA = .001,
ΔSRMR = .001) invariances were found between boys of both countries.
As for girls, again, the 18-schema model achieved acceptable fit indicators when
analyzing data from both countries simultaneously, thus indicating configural invari-
ance (cf. Table 2). Loading values for the Brazilian sample ranged from .346 (item 41)
to .871 (item 37). For Portuguese girls, those values ranged from .397 (item 2) to .904
(item 34). Full metric (ΔCFI = − .001, ΔRMSEA = − .001, ΔSRMR = .002) and partial
scalar (ΔCFI = − .01, ΔRMSEA = .002, ΔSRMR = .000) invariances were found when
considering Brazilian and Portuguese girls, after relaxing the intercept of item 36.

Internal Consistency

Acceptable internal consistency values were found for the 18 schemas. For the
complete sample, values ranged from α = .63 for the Entitlement/Grandiosity schema
to α = .88 for the Failure schema. For the Brazilian sample, values varied from α = .62
for the Entitlement/Grandiosity schema to α = .87 for the Failure schema. For the
Portuguese sample, values raged from α = .65 for the Self-Sacrifice schema to
α = .90 for both the Social Isolation/Alienation and Failure schemas (cf. Table 3).

Associations with Psychological Symptomatology and Well-Being

The regression analyses significantly (p < .001) predicted the variances of depression
(R2 = .43), anxiety (R2 = .34), and stress (R2 = 31) in the Brazilian sample and those of
depression (R2 = .32), anxiety (R2 = .29), stress (R2 = .33), and well-being (R2 = .31) in
Table 3 Internal consistency and standardized regression coefficient values between the 18 schemas and external variables, by sample
242

Complete sample Brazilian samplea Portuguese sampleb

α α Depression Anxiety Stress α Depression Anxiety Distress Well-being

Abandonment/instability .78 .81 .02 − .03 .02 .83 .20*** .28*** .22*** − .29***
Mistrust/abuse .70 .72 .13* .12* .13** .73 .13* .14* .13* − .11**
Emotional deprivation .73 .84 .11* .08 .06 .87 .08 .03 .06 − .08
Defectiveness/shame .81 .81 .09** .02 .01 .84 − .03 − .07 − .06 .01
Social isolation/alienation .87 .84 .18*** .09 .13** .90 .22** .26*** .14*** − .25***
Dependence/incompetence .74 .73 .13** .12* .11* .74 .04 − .03 .00 .03
Vulnerability to harm or illness .71 .71 .04 .21*** .12* .75 .06 .05 .08 .01
Enmeshment/undeveloped self .84 .85 − .04 .01 .04 .86 − .05 − .03 − .03 .06
Failure .88 .87 − .01 .06 − .05 .90 .02 .10 .08 − .06
Entitlement/grandiosity .63 .62 .00 .01 .11* .70 − .05 − .02 − .04 .05
Insufficient self-control/self-discipline .70 .71 .03 − .04 .02 .74 .02 .03 − .00 − .12*
Subjugation .71 .72 − .01 .02 − .02 .73 .13* − .03 .09 .04
Self-sacrifice .65 .65 .05 .09* .11** .65 .11* − .03 .07 − .01
Approval/recognition-seeking .73 .73 .03 − .01 .01 .75 − .09 − .04 − .07 .04
Negativity/pessimism .81 .81 .19*** .13** .15** .74 .06 .09 .09 − .07
Emotional inhibition .74 .79 − .01 .00 − .01 .72 − .13** − .11* − .13** .10*
Unrelenting standards/hypercriticalness .70 .75 − .06 .00 − .07 .79 − .06 − .00 − .04 .03
Punitiveness .79 .80 − .04 − .08** − .07 .82 − .03 − .01 − .01 .06

For the Brazilian sample, external variables were evaluated sample using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. For the Portuguese sample, external variables were evaluated using
the Mental Health Inventory—Brief
ns non-significant
*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001
a n = 560
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

b n = 456
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250 243

the Portuguese sample. The specific schemas that significantly contributed to

explaining these variances are presented in Table 3. It is worth mentioning that the
Mistrust/Abuse schema significantly and positively predicted all measures of psycho-
logical symptomatology and significantly and negatively predicted well-being; the
same was found for the Social Isolation/Alienation schema, except in relation to
anxiety, in the Brazilian sample. Alternatively, the Negativity/Pessimism schema only
predicted psychological symptomatology in the Brazilian sample, whereas the
Abandonment/Instability and Emotional Inhibition schemas were significant predictors
of psychological symptomatology and well-being only in the Portuguese sample.

Cross-cultural Mean Comparisons

Following the measurement invariance findings, cross-cultural mean comparisons

between Brazilian and Portuguese boys/girls were performed. Brazilian boys scored
significantly higher than Portuguese boys in the Self-sacrifice schema, whereas Portu-
guese boys had significantly higher mean values in the Dependence/Incompetence and
Punitiveness schemas. As for girls, Brazilian girls scored significantly higher on the
Approval/Recognition-Seeking and Unrelenting Standards/Hypercriticalness schemas;
alternatively, Portuguese girls had significantly higher mean values in the Defective-
ness/Shame, Dependence/Incompetence, and Punitiveness schemas (cf. Table 4).

Discussion

This research showed the cross-cultural validation and psychometric analyses of the B-
YSQ-A in Portuguese and Brazilian samples. Conceptual equivalence was achieved
between the original version (Portugal) and the adapted version (Brazil) using a
standard procedure for the cross-cultural adaptation. Furthermore, the cross-cultural
validation of the internal measurement model of the B-YSQ-A supported the 18-EMSs
model proposed by Young and colleagues (Young 1999; Young et al. 2003); the 18
EMSs also proved reliable concerning internal consistency. Results were in line with
previous studies encompassing the validation of different versions of the YSQ for
younger individuals (Calvete et al. 2013a, b; Saritas and Gençöz 2011; Van Vlierberghe
et al. 2010). The 18 EMS measurement model proposed by Santos et al. (2018) was
found to have an adequate fit for the complete sample of the current study. Moreover,
items composing each schema were found to be similarly explicative of the Brazilian
and Portuguese experience of those constructs, for both boys and girls.
Depression and anxiety symptoms were related to the EMSs in both samples,
concurring to the validity evidence of the B-YSQ-A based on the relation to other
variables. Scores on depression were significantly associated with the Abandonment/
Instability, Mistrust/Abuse, Emotional Deprivation, Defectiveness/Shame, Social Iso-
lation/Alienation, Dependence/Incompetence, Emotional Inhibition, and Negativity/
Pessimism schemas. The themes portrayed by these EMSs are in accordance with the
cognitive approach which relates depression to issues of loss (i.e., Abandonment/
Instability), hopelessness (i.e., Negativity/Pessimism), deprivation (i.e., Emotional
Deprivation), and negative self-evaluation (i.e., Social Isolation/Alienation) (Pössel
2017). These results were also in line with previous studies on adolescents, although
244 International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

Table 4 Variant mean scores between Brazilian and Portuguese boys and girls

Boys L a t e n t Girls Latent

mean mean
Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese

Abandonment/instability
Mistrust/abuse
Emotional deprivation
Defectiveness/shame
Social isolation/alienation
Dependence/incompetence
Vulnerability to harm or illness
Enmeshment/undeveloped self
Failure
Entitlement/grandiosity
Insufficient
self-control/self-discipline
Subjugation
Self-sacrifice
Approval/recognition-seeking
Negativity/pessimism
Emotional inhibition
Unrelenting
standards/hypercriticalness
Punitiveness
3.82 (1.38) 3.62 (1.29) − 0.12
2.99 (1.30) 2.80 (1.12) − 0.21
2.11 (1.36) 1.96 (0.98) − 0.15
1.79 (1.12) 2.04 (1.07) 0.26
2.20 (1.44) 2.11 (1.24) − 0.07
1.67 (0.87) 1.91 (0.89) 0.33*
2.34 (1.23) 2.49 (1.17) 0.16
2.75 (1.34) 2.95 (1.19) 0.24
2.05 (1.14) 2.08 (1.01) 0.15
2.11 (1.08) 2.07 (0.92) − 0.05
2.48 (1.21) 2.47 (1.02) − 0.03
1.87 (0.91) 1.98 (0.87) 0.18
3.59 (1.26) 2.99 (1.05) − 0.68*
3.59 (1.26) 2.62 (.18) − 0.10
2.79 (1.33) 2.78 (1.22) − 0.12
3.00 (1.38) 2.92 (1.21) − 0.08
2.79 (1.39) 3.50 (1.44) − 0.32
2.28 (1.26) 2.79 (1.24) 0.43*
4.27 (1.32) 4.28 (1.35) 0.04
3.27 (1.36) 3.21 (1.18) 0.19
1.97 (1.26) 1.89 (1.11) − 0.12
1.61 (0.96) 1.89 (1.00) 0.31*
2.24 (1.38) 2.11 (1.19) − 0.06
1.63 (0.87) 1.83 (0.82) 0.29*
2.71 (1.40) 2.83 (1.29) 0.14
3.00 (1.49) 2.99 (1.41) 0.02
2.01 (1.16) 2.08 (1.02) 0.18
1.93 (0.92) 1.80 (0.76) − 0.23
2.13 (1.08) 2.14 (0.93) − 0.01
1.86 (0.97) 1.78 (0.77) − 0.11
3.68 (1.31) 3.37 (1.14) − 0.22
2.67 (1.30) 2.37 (1.07) 0.36*
3.10 (1.51) 3.07 (1.31) − 0.04
2.98 (1.35) 3.07 (1.34) 0.09
3.15 (1.45) 2.84 (1.35) − 0.26*
2.23 (1.23) 2.75 (1.16) 0.53*

Results for descriptive measures are presented as M(SD). For latent mean comparisons, the Brazilian group
was taken as reference (i.e., latent mean = 0)
*p < .0027; when not signaled, the latent mean comparison was non-significant

the current research addressed the schema level, whereas those studies considered
schema domains. For example, Calvete et al. (2013a, b) found that EMSs within the
Disconnection/Rejection domain were predictors of depressive symptoms in adoles-
cence. The Disconnection/Rejection and Impaired Autonomy/Performance domains
were also found to be associated with initial levels and stability of depressive symptoms
over time in adolescents (Calvete et al. 2015).
The scores on anxiety were significantly associated with the Abandonment/Instability,
Mistrust/Abuse, Social Isolation/Alienation, Dependence/Incompetence, Vulnerability to
Harm or Illness, Self-Sacrifice, Negativity/Pessimism, Emotional Inhibition, and Punitive-
ness schemas. Again, these findings were in line with a cognitive perspective that anxiety
was associated with the anticipation of negative evaluations (i.e., Mistrust/Abuse), the
perceptions of others as more socially competent (i.e., Social Isolation/Alienation and
Failure), and beliefs about physical and psychological threats (i.e., Vulnerability to Harm
or Illness). Previous studies suggested that individuals with anxiety disorder present high
levels of EMSs (Cámara and Calvete 2012; Hawke and Provencher 2011). The EMSs
having found to be associated with anxiety belong to the Disconnection/Rejection and
Impaired Autonomy domains, which have been found to play a relevant role in anxiety
International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250 245

symptoms among adolescents (Calvete et al. 2015). Furthermore, these results were
consistent with the results obtained by Van Vlierberghe et al. (2010), who found an
association between internalizing symptoms and the EMSs of Abandonment/Instability,
Mistrust/Abuse, Social Isolation/Alienation, and Defectiveness/Shame. Scores on stress
were significantly associated with the Abandonment/Instability, Mistrust/Abuse, Social
Isolation/Alientation, Dependence/Incompetence, Vulnerability to Harm or Illness, Entitle-
ment/Grandiosity, Self-Sacrifice, Negativity/Pessimism, and Emotional Inhibition schemas.
For Portuguese adolescents, well-being was negatively associated with the Aban-
donment/Instability, Mistrust/Abuse, Social Isolation/Alienation, Insufficient self-con-
trol/Self-Discipline, and Emotional Inhibition schemas, indicating that the greater the
presence of those EMSs, the lower the well-being scores. These results are in line with
the assumption that EMSs are associated with psychopathology according to the ST
proposal (Young et al. 2003). Interestingly, the Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self EMS
was significantly and positively associated with well-being, but not with depression,
anxiety, and psychological distress. The Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self, during ado-
lescence, may still be related to the need for adolescent-parent attachment, without
necessarily being considered dysfunctional and, therefore, it was found to be associated
with the psychological well-being of adolescents. In addition, the close parent-child
relationship may be a protective factor for mental health (Aksarapak et al. 2018).
Because measurement invariance was established, we were able to proceed with
credible comparisons of the endorsement of EMSs between Brazilian and Portuguese
adolescents, constituting an innovative feature of this research. By doing so, several
cultural differences were found and might be explained either by culturally-specific
parent-child attachment patterns or by the context/circumstances where those patterns
develop, given that both can contribute to the development of EMSs (Roelofs et al. 2011;
Thimm 2010). Young et al. (2003) stated that the primary causal factor in the development
of EMSs is early negative relational experiences during childhood and adolescence.
Brazilian adolescent boys seemed to reveal a tendency to sacrifice their needs in
interpersonal relationships (i.e., Self-Sacrifice). Brazilian adolescent girls had greater
concerns with a perfectionist and hard performance (i.e., Unrelenting Standards/
Hypercriticalness) and with the need to receive approval or recognition (i.e., Approv-
al/Recognition-seeking). In comparison with Portuguese adolescents, Brazilian adoles-
cents tend to be more exposed to several risk factors, including poverty, family and
community violence (Benetti et al. 2014; Gil da Silva and Dell’Aglio 2016; Pinto and
Assis 2013), and higher rates of child labor (Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Statistics 2016). Such experiences may have influenced the development of Self-
Sacrifice in a stronger way. Although most parents of Brazilian adolescents tend to
use an authoritative parental style, a portion still uses coercive and punitive practices
(Leme et al. 2013; Pacheco et al. 2008), which may lead adolescents to feel the need to
be perfect in an increased manner and to develop self-criticism in a stronger way, more
so than Portuguese adolescents. Approval/Recognition-seeking may be considered as a
normal characteristic during adolescence, mainly the increased need for acceptance and
feelings of belonging to a group.
In turn, Portuguese adolescent boys and girls endorsed more intensely items related
to feelings that they are unable to perform daily tasks and need to depend on others (i.e.,
Dependence/Incompetence) and the belief that they should be harshly punished for
their mistakes (i.e., Punitiveness). Portuguese adolescent girls showed a higher
246 International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2020) 13:233–250

perception of Defectiveness and Shame, encompassing a negative view of themselves

(i.e., Defectiveness/Shame). Portuguese adolescents may perceive their parents as using
an authoritarian style predominantly (Silva et al. 2012), encompassing high control,
obedience, and conformity; moreover, these parents may show low responsiveness
(Hoskins 2014). Punitiveness may also be associated with the use of punitive parental
practices and with highly demanding parents, showing high perfectionism (Young et al.
2003). On the other hand, while in adults all the 18 EMSs have been considered to be
maladaptive (Young et al. 2003), the endorsement of EMSs such as Dependence may
be normative and even adaptive during adolescence. The study by Jensen and Dost-
Gözkan (2014) showed that there is a process of seeking to increase behavioral
autonomy and limiting parental control/authority throughout adolescence, and so, a
gradually declining level of dependence is to be expected.
This study has some limitations. Firstly, while gender invariance has been found for
the B-YSQ-A (Santos et al. 2018) and though girls have been more prevalent in both
Brazilian and Portuguese school systems, these study samples were unbalanced
concerning gender; both were predominantly female. Secondly, the current work relied
solely on self-report measures. Though EMSs have been mainly assessed through this
method due to practical reasons, such method is not free of constraints (Rijo 2017),
namely the fact that conscious access to childhood memories related to EMSs can
trigger undesired and intense negative affect and thus lead individuals to avoid evoking
such kind of information. Thirdly, the external variables used for evidence on construct
validity were restricted to internalizing symptoms; future research should investigate
possible associations between EMSs and externalizing symptoms in adolescents.
Future studies should also assess the validity of the B-YSQ-A in clinical samples.
Despite these shortcomings, the current study has several strengths, namely the use
of a large and multi-cultural sample that allowed for cross-cultural validation of the B-
YSQ-A. This instrument was useful for an accurate cross-cultural assessment of the
theoretically proposed 18 EMSs in an accurate manner, concerning its conceptual
equivalence between cultures, its internal factor structure, internal consistency, and its
construct validity.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Psychology of the Federal University of Rio
Grande do Sul and by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the
University of Coimbra.

Conflict of Interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Affiliations

Jeane Lessinger Borges 1 & Paula Vagos 2,3 & Débora Dalbosco Dell’Aglio 1,4 &
Daniel Rijo 2
1
Institute of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Adolescence (NEPA/UFRGS), Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Ramiro Barcelos Street, 2.600/115, Porto Alegre City, Rio
Grande do Sul State 90035-003, Brazil
2
University of Coimbra, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Center for Research in
Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
3
Instituto de Desenvolvimento Humano, Universidade Portucalense Infante D. Henrique, Porto Alegre,
Portugal
4
Universidade LaSalle, Canoas, Brazil