Abstract

Early Maladaptive Schemas are deep cognitive structures constituted by beliefs about the word, oneself, and one's relationship with others. Personal Growth Initiative is a complex process of growth, which can be described as a person's active and intentional involvement in changing and developing as a person. The present study adopts a between groups design to determine whether there are any gender differences among undergraduate students with respect to early maladaptive schemas and personal growth initiative. A correlational design was adopted to determine whether there is a relationship between early maladaptive schemas and personal growth initiative in undergraduate students. On- probability purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 600 undergraduate students (boys=300, girls =boys) from private college. Significant differences were found between undergraduate students with respect to some dimensions of early maladaptive schemas and personal growth initiative. Results further showed that there is a relationship between some dimensions of early maladaptive schemas and dimensions personal growth initiative in boys as well as girls. Current findings suggest that special workshops and training on life skills for students can help them understand the adverse effects of early maladaptive schemas on their personal growth, and how effectively they can avoid it.