Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
M.A. in General Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
3
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
Disability is a widespread social phenomenon; the World Health Organization (WHO, n.d.) estimates that around 1.3 billion people live with some form of disability, including about 1.5 million individuals in Iran (SWOI, 2023). Physical-motor disability, impairment of the skeletal, neural, and motor systems, shows a particularly high prevalence among disability types (Akyol Güner & Das Gecim, 2023). Affected individuals face substantial environmental, social, and organizational barriers, including restricted access to transportation, healthcare, and employment (Lebrasseur et al., 2021), and report greater social isolation and psychological vulnerability than the general population (Pinals et al., 2022). Given this vulnerability, examining life satisfaction, the cognitive component of subjective well-being (Pavot & Diener, 1993), and its psychological determinants is essential for designing effective interventions (Cai et al., 2023), since people with disabilities generally report lower life satisfaction than others (Moin et al., 2009; Schwartz & Rabinovitz, 2003).
Beyond physical constraints, psychological factors substantially shape life satisfaction in this population. Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS), stable, self-defeating cognitive-emotional patterns formed in childhood when emotional needs are unmet (Yousefi et al., 2021), represent one such factor. This study focused on five schemas from Young's "disconnection/rejection" and "impaired autonomy/performance" domains, abandonment/instability, emotional deprivation, defectiveness/shame, failure, and dependence/incompetence (Young et al., 2006), which are linked to mood and anxiety disorders (Mirei et al., 2024) and impaired interpersonal functioning (Jalilian et al., 2023). The distinctive circumstances of people with disabilities, chronic loneliness (Pinals et al., 2022) and dependence on others for daily tasks (Lebrasseur et al., 2021), may activate these schemas, consistent with evidence linking them to self-stigma in this population (Pyszkowska & Stojek, 2022).
EMS may also undermine life satisfaction indirectly, by weakening two psychological resources. The first is self-efficacy, which is a key idea in Bandura's social-cognitive theory and refers to one's perceived capability to attain goals (Bandura, 2013). Because EMS foster negative self-beliefs and limit the mastery experiences that build confidence, they are expected to reduce self-efficacy (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2021; Zhu et al., 2019. The second is resilience, which means the ability to stay balanced and recover in a positive way from difficult experiences (Scott, 2013). Rigid and dysfunctional schemas are also expected to weaken resilience (Jazayeri et al., 2014; Faraji et al., 2022). At the same time, resilience itself helps reduce stress and increase life satisfaction (Cortina et al., 2016). No prior study had examined the simultaneous mediating roles of self-efficacy and resilience in the EMS-life satisfaction relationship among people with physical-motor disabilities, motivating the present study.
Method
This descriptive-correlational study used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The population comprised individuals with physical-motor disabilities in Mashhad, Iran (an estimated 51,533 people, per State Welfare Organization records). Using convenience sampling, questionnaires were distributed at welfare and rehabilitation centers in Mashhad; 180 people responded, and after excluding incomplete responses and outlier cases, 165 participants (85 women, 80 men; aged 18–40) entered the final analysis. To take part, individuals needed to have a physical-motor disability, basic reading and writing skills, and a willingness to participate. People with severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric disorders, or very severe physical-motor disabilities were not included. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (IR.UM.REC.1404.433).
Four instruments were administered: the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985), the short-form Young Schema Questionnaire, using 25 items covering the five target schemas (Young, 1990), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Sherer et al., 1982), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003); all showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.65–0.92). The sample size met established adequacy thresholds for SEM given the model's indicator-to-factor ratios (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988; Wolf et al., 2013). Data were analyzed in SPSS 27 and AMOS 24 to test direct and indirect paths among EMS, self-efficacy, resilience, and life satisfaction.
Findings
Pearson correlations indicated that EMS subscales were significantly negatively associated with life satisfaction (r = -0.32 to -0.40), self-efficacy (r = -0.21 to -0.49), and resilience (r = -0.26 to -0.47), whereas self-efficacy (r = 0.28) and resilience (r = 0.50) were positively associated with life satisfaction (all p < 0.01). Preliminary checks confirmed normality, absence of multicollinearity, and sampling adequacy (KMO = 0.853), supporting the use of SEM.
The hypothesized structural model showed acceptable fit (CMIN/DF = 1.38, RMSEA = 0.048, CFI = 0.958, GFI = 0.90). EMS had a significant negative direct effect on life satisfaction (β = -0.54, p = 0.004), and significantly predicted both self-efficacy (β = -0.71, p = 0.001) and resilience (β = -0.66, p = 0.001). However, while resilience significantly predicted life satisfaction (β = 0.43, p = 0.001), self-efficacy did not (β = -0.04, p = 0.74). Correspondingly, the indirect path from EMS to life satisfaction through resilience was significant (β = -0.20, p = 0.001), confirming resilience as a mediator, whereas the indirect path through self-efficacy was not (β = 0.025, p = 0.77). Together, these results indicate that early maladaptive schemas reduce life satisfaction both directly and indirectly, via diminished resilience, but not through self-efficacy.
Discussion and Conclusion
Consistent with previous research in other populations (Güler & Tuncay, 2023; Bakir aygar & Kurt, 2022; Tutal & Yalcin, 2021; Ilanloo et al., 2020), early maladaptive schemas were significantly negatively related to life satisfaction, suggesting this association is relatively stable across demographic groups. As deep, distorting cognitive patterns, EMS bias individuals' evaluations of themselves and their circumstances (Young, 2018); for people with disabilities, for example, the abandonment/instability schema may heighten fear of being abandoned by those close to them (Silván-Ferrero et al., 2020), while defectiveness/shame promotes social withdrawal and diminished self-esteem (Tutal & Yalcin, 2021).
The significant negative EMS-self-efficacy path aligns with earlier findings (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2021; Kouchi et al., 2021) and with self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997). Unexpectedly, self-efficacy did not significantly predict life satisfaction, contrasting with studies conducted mainly among nurses, older adults, and students (Gazi et al., 2025; Pham & Bhar, 2025; Zandi et al., 2018). This discrepancy may reflect the distinct experience of physical-motor disability, in which self-efficacy may be shaped more by structural barriers than by internal beliefs, with its effect on life satisfaction instead channeled through variables such as social support (Rogowska et al., 2020).
By contrast, resilience emerged as a mediator, consistent with prior work (Djarallah & Zerdoum, 2025; Faraji et al., 2022; Kartol et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2022). As psychological capital, resilience buffers the effects of stressors (Maguire et al., 2021), and its components, such as personal competence and positive acceptance of change, may help individuals adapt daily routines to physical limitations (Fujikawa et al., 2013).
Limitations include reliance on self-report questionnaires, a convenience sample restricted to Mashhad, and uncontrolled disability severity and demographic factors, warranting caution in generalizing the findings. Nonetheless, the results suggest that rehabilitation programs aimed at identifying and modifying early maladaptive schemas, combined with resilience-building interventions such as coping-skills, problem-solving, and emotion-regulation training, may meaningfully improve life satisfaction among individuals with physical-motor disabilities.
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