Early maladaptive schemas and four problematic excessive behaviors: Cross-sectional indirect associations involving desire thinking and craving.

Problematic gambling, problematic gaming, problematic social media use, and problematic pornography use differ in nosological status but may share some psychological correlates. The present cross-sectional study examined associations between early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) and these four problematic excessive behaviors, and compared theory-informed serial and parallel indirect-effect specifications involving desire thinking and craving. A community sample of 811 Iranian adults (43.4 % males; mean age = 27.70 years, SD = 9.00) completed self-report measures. Desire thinking and craving were assessed with reference to the same personally selected activity, although the selected activity was not recorded. Item-level confirmatory factor analyses supported a relative distinction between desire thinking, craving frequency, and craving strength, although substantial overlap remained. The parallel specification showed poor fit, whereas the serial specification showed acceptable fit (χ2(38) = 227.97, CFI = 0.967, TLI = 0.943, RMSEA = 0.079, and SRMR = 0.028). In the serial specification, EMSs were positively associated with desire thinking, desire thinking was strongly associated with craving, and serial indirect associations were observed for all four problematic excessive behaviors. EMSs also remained directly associated with the outcomes. Craving was positively associated with all four behavioral severity outcomes. However, because the selected activity was not recorded, these associations cannot be interpreted as behavior-matched craving-severity associations. The findings suggest possible cross-domain relevance of EMSs, desire thinking, and craving, but do not establish temporal or causal ordering, diagnostic equivalence, or a single underlying addiction process. Because the referent of the desire-thinking and craving measures was not recorded, behavior-specific interpretation of these associations remains limited.