{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T10:16:37Z","timestamp":1788430597759,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788134400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behav. Sci.","Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs) have been associated with violent and antisocial behavior, but little is known about current EMS profiles among individuals convicted of homicide or whether forensic community differences vary according to sex. This study examined the independent and interactive associations of incarceration status and sex with EMSs. Methods: This cross-sectional, postdictive study included 492 participants: 246 incarcerated individuals convicted of homicide and 246 community participants. EMSs were assessed using the Young Schema Questionnaire\u2013Short Form 3 (YSQ-S3). A 2 \u00d7 2 factorial multivariate analysis of covariance examined the effects of incarceration status, sex, and their interaction across 18 EMSs while controlling for age and educational attainment. Results: Significant multivariate effects were found for incarceration status, Pillai\u2019s Trace = 0.417, F(18, 469) = 18.65, p &lt; 0.001; sex, Pillai\u2019s Trace = 0.446, F(18, 469) = 20.94, p &lt; 0.001; and their interaction, Pillai\u2019s Trace = 0.411, F(18, 469) = 18.21, p &lt; 0.001. After Bonferroni correction across the 18 outcomes, incarcerated participants reported higher Emotional Deprivation and Abandonment, whereas community participants scored higher on several schemas involving impaired autonomy, negative self-evaluation, emotional overcontrol, impaired limits, and self-regulation. Mistrust\/Abuse did not remain a robust aggregate status effect. These marginal patterns were qualified by the interaction: forensic community differences varied substantially by sex, particularly for Failure, Entitlement\/Grandiosity, and Insufficient Self-Control\/Self-Discipline. Conclusions: Current EMS profiles were selective and sex-contingent rather than globally elevated among individuals convicted of homicide. Because EMSs were assessed after the offense, conviction, and incarceration, the findings are postdictive and do not establish that the identified schemas predicted or caused homicidal behavior. Schema-informed assessment may complement broader multimethod forensic formulation, but the findings do not establish treatment effectiveness.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16091535","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T01:05:26Z","timestamp":1788224726000},"page":"1535","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Comparative Study of Early Maladaptive Schema Profiles in Individuals Convicted of Homicide and Individuals from the Community: The Moderating Role of Sex"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Risvan Vlad","family":"Rusu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research, Institute of Sexology, 400394 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0667-2898","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristian","family":"Delcea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Doctoral School, Vasile Goldi\u0219 Western University of Arad, 310025 Arad, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"45","article-title":"Early maladaptive schemas as transdiagnostic vulnerability factors: The role of threat sensitivity and negative expectancy patterns","volume":"20","author":"Aghababaei","year":"2026","journal-title":"Personality and Mental Health"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01093.x","article-title":"Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency","volume":"30","author":"Agnew","year":"1992","journal-title":"Criminology"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e70153","DOI":"10.1002\/cpp.70153","article-title":"Early maladaptive schemas as core therapeutic targets in eating disorders and obesity: A schema therapy-informed network analysis","volume":"32","author":"Aloi","year":"2025a","journal-title":"Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e70052","DOI":"10.1002\/cpp.70052","article-title":"Early maladaptive schemas mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and interpersonal problems in eating disorders","volume":"32","author":"Aloi","year":"2025b","journal-title":"Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1590\/2237-6089-2017-0118","article-title":"The effects of parental rearing styles and early maladaptive schemas in the development of personality: A systematic review","volume":"41","author":"Basso","year":"2019","journal-title":"Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"716","DOI":"10.1111\/papt.12465","article-title":"Early maladaptive schemas and schema modes in clinical disorders: A systematic review","volume":"96","author":"Rijkeboer","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Beck, J. 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