| The self-other relational schema model has been proposed as a model for explaining how early caregiving relationships are internalized and function as an organizing mechanism for emotion and behavior. It has been proposed that self-other schemata are associated with affect reactivity in interpersonal contexts and psychological functioning, including interpersonal problems. The present study attempts to determine the presence and nature of those proposed associations.;Participants for this study were drawn from a larger population of local public school students (ages 14-15) who volunteered to participate. These participants completed measures assessing their representations of self and other. Based on their responses, they were divided into four relational schema groups. The final sample included 36 female and 34 male adolescents.;The sample group and their primary caretakers then completed additional measures in a laboratory setting, including two tasks to assess their affect reactivity. First, they were asked to listen to stories containing emotionally evocative situations and report their individual affective response. Physiological assessment was also conducted during this measure. Second, participants were asked to tell stories about times when they had strong affective reaction. Participants and their parents also completed measures of demographic information and psychological functioning. Participants were paid for their participation.;Overall, results supported the proposed associations between relational schemata, affect reactivity, and psychological functioning. Adolescents showed different types of affect reactivity--including physiological response and self-reported affect--to different interpersonal events based on their relational schema. For example, participants with a Self-Protective schema, who think highly of themselves but poorly of others, responded more to stories about interpersonal fairness than participants with other schemata. Other patterns of schemata related responses are presented and their relative fit with theoretical expectations is discussed.;Further, relational schemata and affect reactivity were found to account for a large portion of the variance in adolescents' psychological symptomatology and interpersonal problems. Collectively, these results demonstrate that schemata intersect with affect in the context of particular interpersonal events and are related to adolescent functioning. The nature of these associations is explored, and directions for future research on relational schemata are presented. |
