The Effect of Abandonment Schema on the Search for Meaning in Life: The Mediating Role of Borderline Personality Organization Among Instagram Users

Mousavi, Seyedeh Zahra; Erfanikia, Mohammad; Ghafoorifard, Maryam

doi:10.22055/psy.2026.51587.3555

The Effect of Abandonment Schema on the Search for Meaning in Life: The Mediating Role of Borderline Personality Organization Among Instagram Users

Document Type : Call for papers in English

Authors

Seyedeh Zahra Mousavi ¹

Mohammad Erfanikia ²

Maryam Ghafoorifard ³

¹ PhD in Psychology. Department of Psychology. Faculty of Humanities. Persian Gulf University. Bushehr. Iran

² PhD Student. School of Psychology. University of East Anglia. Norwich. United Kingdom.

³ MA of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Faculty of Clinical Psychology. Islamic Azad University. Shiraz. Iran.

10.22055/psy.2026.51587.3555

Abstract

Aim: Instagram usage has grown substantially in recent years; thus, the psychological well-being of individuals who use this platform has been affected. The present study aimed to explore the effect of the abandonment/instability schema on the search for meaning in life, with the mediating role of borderline personality organization among active Instagram users.
Methods: This study applied a descriptive-correlational design using structural equation modeling. The target population consisted of active Instagram users, from whom a convenience sample of 208 participants was selected. The tools included the Short Form of the Personality Organization Questionnaire (Yamada et al., 2022), the Abandonment/Instability Schema Scale (Young, 1990), and the Meaning in Life Quest Scale (Steger, 2006). Data were analyzed using SPSS-26 and Mplus-7.
Results: The results indicated that only the effect of the abandonment/instability schema on borderline personality organization was significant (β=0.91, p<0.0001). Nevertheless, the effects of the abandonment/instability schema on the search for meaning in life (β=-0.37, p=0.33) and borderline personality organization on the search for meaning in life (β=0.58, p=0.14) were not significant.
Conclusion: The findings highlighted the potential utility of schema therapy in alleviating the development of borderline personality traits or related issues. However, lack of significant effects on the search for meaning in life emphasized the need for future research to explore other potential variables associated with meaning in life.

Keywords

Abandonment/instability schema

meaning in life

borderline personality organization

Instagram

Subjects