The development of the Metacognitions About Boredom Scale (MABS) and its role in problematic social media use

Boredom is a universal affective-cognitive state arising from unmet needs for meaningful engagement. Although unpleasant, boredom can inspire creativity and purposeful action or trigger maladaptive behaviors such as problematic social media use (PSMU). The present study developed and validated the Metacognitions About Boredom Scale (MABS), a new instrument designed to assess positive and negative metacognitions about boredom.

The research comprised two studies. Study 1 involved mixed-methods item generation and large-scale validation among Iranian adults (N = 1,021; 58.0% females; mean age = 39.4 years), employing exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Study 2 involved at-risk individuals with problematic social media use (N = 234); bifactor and ROC analyses were conducted to determine an optimal cut-off score for positive and negative metacognitions about boredom.

Study 1 supported a stable two-factor structure of positive and negative metacognitions about boredom, confirmed through both exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Both subscales demonstrated excellent reliability, strong test-retest stability, and full measurement invariance across gender and age. Incremental validity analyses showed that the MABS predicted boredom and PSMU beyond general metacognitions. Study 2 confirmed the bifactor model, and ROC analysis indicated an optimal cut-off of ≥32 on the negative belief subscale for distinguishing individuals at risk of boredom-driven PSMU, yielding 95.3% sensitivity and 97.1% specificity.

The MABS is a valid, theory-based tool assessing boredom-related metacognitions and identifying cognitive risks for maladaptive online behaviors.