The Relationship Between Sense of Belonging and Life Satisfaction Among University Students: The Mediating Role of Social Isolation and Psychological Distress

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of social isolation and psychological distress in the relationship between belonging and life satisfaction among university students.
Methodology: In a correlational design, 200 undergraduate students from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad were selected via a multi-stage sampling method. Data collection was carried out by measurements, including a sense of belonging instrument (Hagerty, & Patusky, 1995), need to belong scale (Kelly,1999), schema questionnaire (Young, 1998), depression, anxiety, stress scale (Lovibond, & Lovibond,1995), psychological distress scale (Kessler et al., 2002) and satisfaction with life scale (Diener,  et al., 1985). Data analysis was conducted using the pearson correlation coefficient and path analysis.  
Findings: The results indicated that the sense of belonging and the need to belong were related to social isolation. Additionally, the mediating role of social isolation and psychological distress in the relationship between belonging and life satisfaction was confirmed (P <0.01). The fit indices confirmed the goodness of fit of the stated model. Also, psychological distress was significantly related to life satisfaction.
Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of laying the groundwork for students' life satisfaction, which requires the implementation of effective interventions and programs to strengthen the sense of belonging, followed by the reduction of social isolation and psychological distress. The limitations of this study and the future directions will be discussed.