The serial mediation of embodied self-representation and psychological flexibility in the relationship between boredom proneness and depression among individuals with schizophrenia.

A significant research gap persists in delineating the cardinal difficulties associated with negative symptoms throughout the trajectory of psychosis, highlighting the need for increased clinical vigilance. To investigate the associations between embodied self-representation, psychological flexibility, boredom proneness, and depression in individuals with schizophrenia (IwS), and to examine whether embodied self-representation and psychological flexibility serially mediate this relationship, a cross-sectional research design was used. A convenience sample of 141 IwS completed the Self and Others Scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, Short Boredom Proneness Scale, and Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia. Embodied self-representation emerged as a statistically significant negative predictor of Calgary Depression (B = -0.096, β = -0.189, t = -1.990, p = 0.047). Boredom proneness had a statistically significant direct positive effect on Calgary Depression Scale scores (β = 0.217, p = 0.012) and a significant indirect effect through embodied self-representation and psychological flexibility (standardized indirect effect = 0.068, 95% bias-corrected CI [0.047, 0.185]). The bias-corrected bootstrapping analysis (5000 resamples) indicated that the indirect effect was statistically significant because the 95% confidence interval did not include zero, supporting serial mediation. The indirect effect value of the path boredom proneness → depression indicates that psychological flexibility may play a protective role in reducing depressive symptoms among IwS by facilitating the reframing of maladaptive self-schemas within the context of a more coherent embodied self-representation. These findings necessitate the implementation of evidence-based cognitive remediation and psychoeducational programs to strengthen self-construction and enhance the psychological flexibility of IwS. However, the cross-sectional design of the study precludes causal inferences.