APS

2026 APS Annual Convention · 2026

Impaired Limits Early Maladaptive Schemas Predict Internal Sexual Motives

Barcelona, Spain · May 2026

Posters · Emotion & Motivation: What Drives the Self

Session: Poster Session VII

Authors

Abstract

Early maladaptive schemas are enduring cognitive and behavioral patterns that originate in childhood to manage reactions to traumatic experiences and unmet emotional needs. Our survey of 534 U.S. adults revealed that impaired limits schemas significantly predicted internal sex motives related to coping and self-affirmation in men and women.