Parenting and Its Relationship with Early Maladaptive Schemas and Relational Ethics in Nahj al-Balāghah

Ziaee, Seyedeh Soleil; Shariati Siasar, ّFaezeh

doi:10.22034/imjpl.2026.23757.1248

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

¹ Department of Islamic Education, Institute for Islamic Studies in Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Department of psychology and educational sciences, Ferdowsi university of Mashhad.

https://doi.org/10.22034/imjpl.2026.23757.1248

Abstract

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are enduring patterns linked in schema theory to unmet emotional needs and early relational experience. This study asks how explicitly parent–child passages in Nahj al-Balāghah articulate care, education, dignity, and the limits of authority, and where cautious comparison with schema therapy is possible. It examines ethical meanings in their textual setting rather than testing clinical outcomes.
METHOD & FINDING: A directed qualitative content analysis examined selected letters and sayings addressing a father, a child, and their reciprocal duties. Arabic meaning units were checked against an English translation and classical commentaries; initial parenting and schema-related codes were applied, discordant readings were retained, and related units were grouped into six themes. These concern compassionate parental concern, timely education, reflective learning, reciprocal regard, bounded authority, and the child's right to instruction. Each theme is paired with a limit on clinical inference.
CONCLUSION: The selected passages provide an ethical vocabulary for parent–child relationships that may inform culturally responsive, collaborative case formulation. Textual correspondences neither establish that the text describes EMSs nor show that religious instruction prevents or treats them. Interviews and prospective studies are needed to evaluate psychological applications.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Main Subjects

Life Style

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International Multidisciplinary Journal of Pure Life (IMJPL)

Parenting and Its Relationship with Early Maladaptive Schemas and Relational Ethics in Nahj al-Balāghah

References

References

Volume 13, Issue 46 - Serial Number 2
June 2026
Pages 37-48

Parenting and Its Relationship with Early Maladaptive Schemas and Relational Ethics in Nahj al-Balāghah

References

References

Volume 13, Issue 46 - Serial Number 2June 2026Pages 37-48

Volume 13, Issue 46 - Serial Number 2
June 2026
Pages 37-48