Background: Cognitive structures organize the thought and behavior of the person. When the deepest cognitive schemas are activated, people experience the high levels of emotions. It has been proved that emotion regulation plays an important role in adaptation to the stressful life events. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the early maladaptive schemas and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and healthy people.

Materials and Methods: In this causal-comparative (ex-post facto) study, 60 OCD patients and 60 healthy people were selected by purposive sampling.

Results: Results showed no significant difference between the early maladaptive schemas and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in OCD patients and healthy people OCD patients received the higher scores in early maladaptive schemas. Moreover, results indicated that OCD patients facing the negative life events use the cognitive emotion of regulation negative strategies, but healthy people use the cognitive emotion regulation positive strategies. No significant difference was seen between the males and females in using the early maladaptive schemas and cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

Conclusion: OCD patients have higher levels of early maladaptive schemas in facing the negative life events, they use the cognitive emotion regulation maladaptive and negative strategies.