The mediating role of parental early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between parental self-efficacy and social interest in students with learning disabilities

Introduction The present work is investigating the mediating role of parental early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between parental self-efficacy and social interest among students with learning disabilities. Methods This descriptive-analytical study employed a correlational design within a structural equation modelling framework. The population of the current work consisted of all elementary school students with a formal diagnosis of Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) in Hubei, China, during the first quarter of the 2024–2025 academic year. A sample of 200 students with specific learning disabilities was selected using a convenience sampling method. The Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (SQ-SF), Bandura’s Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (1994), and Alizadeh and colleagues’ Social Interest Questionnaire (2013) were used. Analysis of data was conducted using path-analysis through structural equation modelling with AMOS and SPSS-24 software. Results and discussion The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between parental self-efficacy and students’ social interest. Additionally, there was a significant negative relationship between early maladaptive schemas and both parental self-efficacy and students’ social interest. Furthermore, the results indicated that the relationship between parental self-efficacy and students’ social interest is significant. However, when the mediator variable (early maladaptive schemas) was introduced in to the model, the path coefficient decreased. So, it was concluded that the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between parental self-efficacy and students’ social interest was confirmed (p ≤0.05). Therefore, these findings can contribute to the development of more effective educational policies for students with learning disabilities by emphasizing the crucial role of parents in their children’s social interests and academic success.