Razi University

  AbstractObjective: The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between social connectedness and mental health among upper secondary school students in Kermanshah, Iran, with a focus on the mediating role of loneliness. Specifically, the study aimed to examine how social ties may contribute to students’ mental health through their association with loneliness.Method: This applied study employed a descriptive-correlational survey design using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of upper secondary school students in Kermanshah during the 2025–2026 academic year. A total of 247 students were selected through multistage cluster random sampling. Data were collected using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) developed by Goldberg and Hiller (1979), the Social Connectedness Scale–Social Connectedness (SSC-SC) developed by Carroll et al. (2017), and the UCLA Loneliness Scale developed by Russell, Peplau, and Cutrona (1980). Data were analyzed using    version 27 and Mplus version 8. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling were conducted to assess the measurement models and test the proposed conceptual model.Results: The findings revealed that connectedness to school (? = ?0.34, t = ?3.41, p < 0.01), family (? = ?0.41, t = ?4.08, p < 0.01), and friends (? = ?0.48, t = ?4.30, p < 0.01) had significant relationships with mental health problems. However, the relationship between community connectedness and mental health problems was not statistically significant (? = 0.03, t = 0.46, p = 0.64). Furthermore, connectedness to school (? = ?0.19, t = ?2.82, p < 0.01), family (? = ?0.28, t = ?5.11, p < 0.01), and friends (? = ?0.53, t = ?8.58, p < 0.01) was negatively and significantly associated with loneliness, whereas the relationship between community connectedness and loneliness was not significant (? = 0.05, t = 0.87, p = 0.38). Loneliness was also significantly associated with mental health problems (? = 0.71, t = 5.57, p < 0.01). Analysis of indirect effects indicated that loneliness significantly mediated the relationship between school connectedness and mental health problems (? = 0.14, p < 0.01), family connectedness and mental health problems (? = 0.20, p < 0.01), and friendship connectedness and mental health problems (? = 0.38, p < 0.01). In contrast, the indirect effect of community connectedness on mental health problems through loneliness was not statistically significant (? = ?0.04, p = 0.39). The model fit indices (?²/df = 1.29, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.03, and SRMR = 0.08) indicated an acceptable fit between the proposed model and the observed data.Conclusion: