THE ANALYSIS OF EARLY MALADAPTIVE SCHEMAS WHICH

FACILITATE HIGH PERFORMANCE IN SPORTS GAMES

ABSTRACT:
Starting with the assumption of the interdependence between
psyche and soma and considering the idea that performance is rooted in
the history of each athlete as a unique individual, but also in the
collective history of the team to which the athlete belongs, the present
study aims to identify those elements in terms of early maladaptive
schemas, part of each player's personal history that stimulates a "repair
and healing game" at group level, with reference to the specific sport
practiced, leading to high-level athletic performance.
In order to meet the objectives of the study we used the
psychological instrument YSQ (Youngs Schemas Questionnaire) as
individual assessment tool.
.
Existing data were obtained from the components of two national
teams, women, senior level, the national rugby 7s team, and the national
handball team. There were tested two hypotheses, specifically: (1) There
is a common spectrum of early maladaptive schemas for the rugby and
handball players; (2) There are significant differences in which it
concerns early maladaptive schemas between the rugby players and the
handball players.
Both hypotheses of the study confirm, the results outlining an
interesting dynamic in both sports considered.
INTRODUCTION:
Background and Significance
Rugby and handball
The specific characteristics of a team
Team functioning in sport has been considered predominantly from a
social perspective (Eccles & Tenenbaum, 2007, p. 265)
A sports game is an area in which the personality, the characteristics and
the personal experiences and history of each member of the team
interfere in a common space towards achieving a typical and mutual
goal. The dynamics in a team is a very fascinating element, and a very
delicate one, at least from a psychological point of view.
Some of the most important factors in which it concerns the team
dynamics are the following: homogeneity (especially emotional

homogeneity) (DRAGNEA, 2006, p.29); cohesion; proximity; and

similarity, referring to attitude, aspirations, involvement, interests, and
personal engagement. Similarity is therefore a key word for the present
paper, considering the fact that through the present paper we aim to
examine the relationship between common maladaptive schemas and the
sport practiced in two quite similar sports games: rugby 7s and handball,
both women.
Regarded as masculine sports handball and rugby (Jarvis, 2006, p.
43)
As women compete at higher levels, they often become similar to men in
the way they embrace the sport ethic and use it to frame their identities
as athletes. (Coakley, 2009, p. 208)
Today, as women become increasingly immersed in the social world of
elite power and performance sports, thy beome more tolerant of rule
violations and aggressive ations on the playing field, but this pattern is
less clear among women and men. (Coakley, 2009, p. 207)
Handball is a relatively young sport if comparing to other sports
games; it was born by transforming some popular games and by the
influence of some sports games, mainly soccer. (SUFARU, p.2)
Team handball is a complex intermittent game. (Thomas,
Ravindran, & Abraham, 2007, p. 74)
The origins of rugby are in soccer (MICA ENCICLOPEDIE, p.16)
and in its profound sense is a tough school for educating the will, the
character, self-control and the disciplined and creative fantasy; all these
put together for the condition, sometimes at the edge, of fighting for
victory and direct contact,,with the opponent. (MICA ENCICLOPEDIE,
p. 238)
In handball, and in other sports that involve oposition-colaboration, there are potentially
dangerous that game situations occur in the course of a game or training sessions (Abeza, Bravo, &
Olmedilla, 2006, p. 110)

Cognitive and emotional processes in a team

the production of a sports group that does not depend on
individual accomplishments; model also results from ensemble of factors
such as:
- The composition of the group (the quantity, the degree of heterogeneity
and complementarity of its resources)
- The environment (situational conditions, physical, climatic and / or
geographical)
- Structure (status and roles within the group, group norms)
- Its cohesion (social and operational)
- The communication process that implements
In team sports, the psychological preparation can make the economy of
the group level, it must articulate the individual and the collective.
(FLEURANCE, 1998, p.290)

The regular presence of a sport psychologist in a sport team

amplifies and extends the possibility of intervention by the classical
procedures of evaluation and behaviour modification, he can provide
stability and consistency because he serves closer to the situations lived,
he can respond to contingent requests with his immediate availability,
innovate specific responses by his knowledge and he may also, and this is
his main vocation, engage a multitude of relational interventions, by
entering an increased finesse through the individual requests.
(LEVEQUE, 1993, p.46)
open skill sports (e.g. rugby) due largely to the dynamic and
unpredictable environment (Wolstencroft, 2002, p. 44)
The connection between maladaptive schemas and performance in
sports games
Young et al. (2003) has developed inventories aiming to assess the
presence of maladaptive schemas. In his instrument Young Schema
Inventory Short Form 3 (YSQ-S3) -, Young identifies 18 different
maladaptive schemas, reduced to 5 main domains as it follows:

Disconnection
and
rejection:
Abandonment/Instability;
Mistrust/Abuse; Emotional deprivation; Defectiveness/Shame;
Social isolation.

Impaired
limits:
Entitlement/Grandiosity;
Insufficient
selfcontrol/self-discipline

Impaired autonomy and performance: Dependence/Incompetence;

Vulnerability to harm and illness; Enmeshment/Underdeveloped
Self; Failure

Other-directedness:
Subjugation;
Self-sacrifice;
Approvalseeking/Recognition seeking

Over-vigilance and inhibition: Negativism/Passivity; Emotional

inhibition; Unrealistic standards/Hypercriticism; Punishment.
The importance of this paper also resides in the fact that the study
focuses on eite sportswomen who are less approached in the research
literature athough like men, they are wiling to dedicate themselves to
the game, take risks, pay the price, continue playing despite pain and
injury, and overcome barriers. (Coakley, 2009, p. 207)
METHOD
Sample and participants
All the participants in the study are members in the national teams,
being the most representative samples in the sport practiced from the
perspective of high-performance. 18 of the participants in the study are
rugby players and 27 are handball players.

Procedure
As we have been able to observe, general tests and questionnaires
specific to sport are the assessment procedures most utilized in Sport
Psychology and Physical Education. (GONZALES FERNANDEZ, 2010,
p.6)
Instruments
Young Schema Inventory Short 3 (YSQ-S3) is a 114-item
questionnaire that assesses 18 core beliefs. Each item is rated using a 6point Lickert scale. The 18 early maladaptive schemas are organized in
five domains which correspond to he frustration of 5 basic psychological
needs in childhood: secure attachment, autonomy, realistic limits, selfdirectedness and playfulness (Rafaeli, Bernstein , & Young , 2011, p.
184).
Early schemas relate to the basi emotiona needs of a child. When
these needs are not met in childhood, schemas develop that lead to
unhealthy patterns. Each of the 18 schemas represent specific emotional
needs that are not adequately met in childhood an adolescence (Young ,
Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003)
The 18 core beliefs can be resumed as it follows:
DATA ANALYSIS
Data were stored and analysed using the statistical application
SPSS.
Hypothesis 1: There are common early maladaptive schemas for women
players of rugby and handball.
Considering the fact that rugby and handball are two similar team
sports, it can be assumed that the players are characterized by
congruent particularities, considering the fact that they are members of a
team, each of the two sports involve body contact and aggressiveness,
and also object manipulation, respectively the ball.
From this perspective, we assume that taking into consideration
the criterion of team play, the participants are characterized by the selfsacrifice maladaptive schema. We assume the existence of this schema by
the fact that in choosing to practice a team sport stands a profound need
of focusing on the desires of the others in order to gain their love and
approval.
Hypothesis 2: There are significant differences in which it concerns early
maladaptive schemas between the rugby players and the handball
players.
We assume that in choosing to practice a certain sport stands more
profound needs that though that certain sport can be satisfied and each
sport can satisfy a certain range and combination of needs which are
specific. Despite of the personal history of each actor in the team, there

is a common history or there are certain particularities which join the

individuals into a cohesive team that seeks performance. In the light of
these facts, we assume that there are significant differences in which it
concerns the early maladaptive schemas between the rugby players and
the handball players.
RESULTS
Descriptive statistics
Early maladaptive schemas
Emotional deprivation (ED)
Abandonment/Instability (AB)
Mistrust/Abuse (MA)
Social Isolation (SI)
Defect/Shame (DS)
Failure (FA)
Dependence/Incompetence (DI)
Vulnerability to harm and illness (VH)
Enmeshment/Underdeveloped Self
(EM)
Subjugation (SB)
Self-sacrifice (SS)
Emotional Inhibition (EI)
Unrealistic standards/Hypercriticism
(US)
Entitlement/Grandiosity (ET)
Insufficient self-control/self-discipline
(IS)
Approval-seeking (AS)
Negativism/Passivity (NP)
Punishment (PU)

Rugb
y
18
16,7
16,7
38,9
0
5,6
16,7
22,2
5,6
11,1

Handb
all
27
%
0
0
7,4
3,7
0
0
0
0
3,7

Rugb Handb
y
all
18
27
Cases
3
0
3
0
7
2
0
1
1
0
3
0
4
0
1
0
2
1

5,6
83,3
16,7
77,8

3,7
77,8
14,8
85,2

1
15
3
14

1
21
4
23

50
11,1

37
3,7

9
2

10
1

50
16,7
55,6

3,7
3,7
14,8

9
3
10

1
1
4

Descriptive statistics provide information on the incidence of early

dysfunctional schemas rugby players were among the 7 but also in terms
of the players of handball. Thus, it is noted that if practitioners rugby
athletes are delimited existence of a large number of early dysfunctional
schemas at the individual level (average 5 per player rugby in 7), and
there is a greater variety of them (17 of the 18 schemes early
dysfunctional questionnaire assessed using YSQ). In this sense, we can
say that if there is a rugby players were stronger emotional distress.
Also, we hypothesize that early emotional relationships with significant

persons rugby players were childhood - not built elements of stability and
emotional security.
Regarding the players of handball can notice a much smaller number of
early dysfunctional schemes, on average, each player registering an
average individual level 2-3 of the 18 maladaptive schemas evaluated,
and a variety of smaller them (12 of the 18 schemes valued).
In light of the differences between the averages for the players of rugby
and handball in early maladaptive schemas, we notice the following
differences which are statistically significant:
- Emotional Deprivation: Rugby
- Abandonment / Instability: Rugby
- Mistrust / Abuse: Rugby
- Failure: Rugby
- Dependence / Incompetence: Rugby
- Search Approval / Recognition: Rugby
- Penalty: Rugby
These statistical significant differences can be interpreted as it
follows:
- Emotional Deprivation: the perception that the others do not provide the protection and the
understanding that we need and they dont love us enough. There are three major forms of
emotional deprivation: a) caring deprivation (the lack of attention, love and closeness); b)
understanding deprivation (the perceived absence of empathy); c) protection deprivation (the
absence of directedness and guidance).
In addition, it is noted in both groups (rugby players and handball
players) the existence of 2 early maladaptive schemas, as it follows:
Unrealistic Standards / Hyper-criticism and Self-sacrifice. Considering
these results, we can launch the conclusion that the two schemas
facilitate performance in sport, by the following facts:
- Both sports (handball and rugby) satisfy the need of maintaining close
relationships with the members of the team, and the players love and
approval towards the others is conditioned by achieving the common
goals and by the construction tactics through certain inter-dependence.
- The presence of

Multidimensional analysis:
Analysis of early dysfunctional schemes for the players of rugby 7s
DISCUSSION
In situations relevant to an early maladaptive schema, an individual
experiences strong emotions (Thimm, 2013, p. 113)
Overcompensates for his and her schemas
REFERENCE