Investigating the Mediating Role of Positive Schemas in the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Sleep Quality
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20386405Keywords:
Childhood Trauma, Positive Schemas, Sleep QualityAbstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of positive schemas in the relationship between childhood trauma and sleep quality. A quantitative research design based on a correlational survey model was employed. The study sample consisted of 388 participants aged between 18 and 35 years. Data were collected using an online survey that included a Sociodemographic Information Form, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Positive Schema Scale, and the Cumhuriyet Subjective Sleep Quality Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, group comparisons, Pearson correlation analysis, hierarchical linear regression analysis, mediation analysis conducted with the Hayes PROCESS Macro (Model 4), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicated that childhood trauma was significantly and positively associated with poorer sleep quality, whereas positive schemas were significantly and negatively associated with sleep quality. Furthermore, childhood trauma was found to be a significant negative predictor of positive schemas. Mediation analysis revealed that positive schemas partially mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and sleep quality. In addition, SEM findings demonstrated that childhood neglect influenced sleep quality not directly but largely through the weakening of positive schemas. These findings suggest that positive schemas may serve as a protective psychological mechanism in understanding the impact of childhood trauma on sleep quality.
References
Bader, K., Schaefer, V., Schenkel, M., Nissen, L., & Schwander, J. (2007). Adverse childhood experiences associated with sleep in primary insomnia. Journal of Sleep Research, 16(3), 285–296.
Baglioni, C., Nanovska, S., Regen, W., Spiegelhalder, K., Feige, B., Nissen, C., ... & Riemann, D. (2016). Sleep and mental disorders: A meta-analysis of polysomnographic research. Psychological Bulletin, 142(9), 969–990.
Bernstein, D. P., Fink, L., Handelsman, L., Foote, J., Lovejoy, M., Wenzel, K., ... & Ruggiero, J. (1994). Initial reliability and validity of a new retrospective measure of child abuse and neglect. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(8), 1132–1136.
Brindle, R. C., Cribbet, M. R., Samuelsson, L. B., Gao, C., Frank, E., Krafty, R. T., ... & Hall, M. H. (2018). The relationship between childhood trauma and poor sleep health in adulthood. Psychosomatic Medicine, 80(2), 200–207.
Buchanan, G., Gewirtz, A. H., Lucke, C., & Wambach, M. R. (2020). The concept of childhood trauma in psychopathology: Definitions and historical perspectives. In Childhood trauma in mental disorders: A comprehensive approach (pp. 9–26). Springer International Publishing.
Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2021). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı: İstatistik, araştırma deseni, SPSS uygulamaları ve yorum (27. baskı). Pegem Akademi.
Chi, D., Zhong, H., Wang, Y., Ma, H., Zhang, Y., & Du, X. (2022). Relationships between positive schemas and life satisfaction in psychiatric inpatients. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1061516.
Fabbri, M., Beracci, A., Martoni, M., Meneo, D., Tonetti, L., & Natale, V. (2021). Measuring subjective sleep quality: A review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), 1082.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191.
Keyfitz, L., Lumley, M. N., Hennig, K. H., & Dozois, D. J. A. (2013). The role of positive schemas in child psychopathology and resilience. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 37(1), 97–108.
Kılıç, S. (2018). Üniversite öğrencilerinde pozitif şemaların iyi oluş ve psikolojik belirtileri yordaması (Yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi). Gazi Üniversitesi, Ankara.
Louis, J. P., Wood, A. M., Lockwood, G., Ho, M. R., & Ferguson, E. (2018). Positive clinical psychology and schema therapy: The development of the Young Positive Schema Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 30(9), 1192–1203.
May, T., Younan, R., & Pilkington, P. D. (2022). Adolescent maladaptive schemas and childhood abuse and neglect: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 29(4), 1159–1171.
Pilkington, P. D., Bishop, A., & Younan, R. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences and early maladaptive schemas in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28(3), 569–584.
Pilkington, P. D., Bishop, A., & Younan, R. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences and early maladaptive schemas in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28(3), 569–584.
Prasko, J., Holubova, M., Ociskova, M., Grambal, A., Sigmundova, Z., & Slepecky, M. (2025). Positive schemas and resilience mechanisms in psychological functioning: Current perspectives. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 145221.
Rodrigues, P. M., Marques, D. R., & Gomes, A. A. (2019). Differences in early maladaptive schemas between young adults displaying poor versus good sleep quality. Psychiatric Quarterly, 90(4), 733–746.
Şar, V., Necef, I., Mutluer, T., Fatih, P., & Türk-Kurtça, T. (2021). A revised and expanded version of the Turkish Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-33): Overprotection-overcontrol as additional factor. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 22(1), 35–51.
Sarıçam, H. (2022). A scale development study: Psychometric properties of the Cumhuriyet Subjective Sleep Quality Scale. Cumhuriyet Medical Journal, 44(1).
Schalkwijk, F., Van Someren, E. J., Nicolai, N. J., Uijttewaal, J. L., & Wassing, R. (2023). From childhood trauma to hyperarousal in adults: The mediating effect of maladaptive shame coping and insomnia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17, 990581.
Sheffler, J. L., Burchard, V., & Pickett, S. (2023). Adverse childhood experiences and poor sleep quality in older adults: The influence of emotion regulation. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 78(10), 1919–1924.
Tabachnick, B. G., Fidell, L. S., & Ullman, J. B. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Pearson.
Videler, A. C., van Royen, R. J., Legra, M. J., & Ouwens, M. A. (2020). Positive schemas in schema therapy with older adults: Clinical implications and research suggestions. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 48(4), 481–491.
Videler, A. C., van Royen, R. J., Legra, M. J., & Ouwens, M. A. (2020). Positive schemas in schema therapy with older adults: Clinical implications and research suggestions. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 48(4), 481–491.
Yağar, F., & Dökme, S. (2018). Niteliksel araştırmaların planlanması: Araştırma soruları, örneklem seçimi, geçerlik ve güvenirlik. Gazi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 3(3), 1–9.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ulusal ve Uluslararası Sosyoloji ve Ekonomi Dergisi

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.