Mindfulness is linked to fewer positive and depressive symptoms in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and psychological flexibility appears to partly explain how mindfulness relates to negative and depressive symptoms. In a cross-sectional study of 94 adults with these disorders, higher mindfulness scores correlated with lower positive and depressive symptom severity and with greater psychological flexibility. Statistical mediation analyses showed that psychological flexibility significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and both negative and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest psychological flexibility may be a mechanism through which mindfulness-based interventions reduce certain symptoms, though longitudinal research is needed to confirm this.
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) involve pervasive disturbances in how the brain processes internal bodily signals—a function called interoception. In a cross-sectional observational study, 53 people with SSD and 60 matched healthy controls completed a heartbeat counting task and EEG recordings. People with SSD showed altered subjective interoceptive awareness, including impaired regulation and negative bodily appraisal, along with elevated depersonalization. Their interoceptive accuracy was marginally lower, and their heartbeat evoked potentials were attenuated, especially during the heartbeat counting task, over centro-parietal regions. Depersonalization was the most consistent correlate of clinical severity. These findings suggest interoceptive dysfunction is a central, trait-like feature of SSD.