Background & Objectives: Psychological well–being refers to the quality of mental life and an individual’s satisfaction with various aspects of their life. Psychological well–being is one of the most important indicators of mental health and is considered a guarantee of effective student performance. Therefore, identifying factors affecting student well–being is of great importance. Understanding the direct relationships between cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation, and self–compassion with psychological well–being allows us to recognize their pervasive effects on the quality of students' mental life and to provide targeted interventions to improve their mental health. However, examining indirect relationships and the mediating effects of variables influenced by primary factors doubles the importance of research. Such knowledge, beyond a simple examination of effects, leads to the recognition of more complex psychological mechanisms that can reveal hidden pathways and factors that strengthen or weaken psychological well–being in students. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between psychological well–being, cognitive flexibility, and emotion regulation, with the mediating role of self–compassion in male students studying in the high school second course.

Methods: This study was an analytical correlational study based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all male students studying in the high school second course in Karaj during the 2025–2026 academic year. According to Kline’s view (2023), the minimum required sample size for structural equation modeling should be 15 to 20 times the number of observed variables. The model of the present study included 13 observed variables. Considering Kline’s upper criterion of 20 times, a sample of 260 participants was deemed appropriate for this study; however, to increase the generalizability of the findings, a sample of 335 participants was selected. In this study, convenience sampling was used to select the sample. Accordingly, three high schools in Karaj to which the researcher had access were selected: Imam Khomeini High School, Bani Hashemi Vocational School, and Alborz High School. From these three schools, 335 students were selected through convenience sampling. The inclusion criteria were as follows: the student’s informed consent to participate in the study; the consent of one parent for the student’s participation; absence of mental disorders (based on self–report); not using psychotropic medications (based on self–report). The exclusion criteria were unwillingness to participate in the study and failure to answer more than 5% of the questionnaire items. Data were collected through the Psychological Well–Being Questionnaire (Ryff, 1989), the Cognitive Flexibility Questionnaire (Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003), and the Self–Compassion Scale–Short Form (Raes et al. 2011). Data analysis was conducted at two descriptive and inferential levels. At the descriptive level, descriptive statistical indicators such as frequency, minimum score, maximum score, mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis were used. At the inferential level, Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between the research variables. Also, the conceptual model was examined using structural equation modeling. Data were analyzed at a significance level of 0.05 using SPSS version 22 and AMOS version 22 software.

Results: The findings indicated that the conceptual model fit the collected data (RMSEA=0.056, X2/df=1.55, GFI=0.92, IFI=0.91, CFI=0.91, PNFI=0.62). The indirect effect of cognitive flexibility on psychological well–being mediated by self–compassion (p=0.041, β=0.196) and the indirect effect of emotion regulation on psychological well–being mediated by self–compassion (p=0.043, β=0.166) were favorable and significant. Also, the direct effect of cognitive flexibility on psychological well–being (p<0.001, β=0.311), the direct effect of emotion regulation on psychological well–being (p<0.001, β=0.264), and the direct effect of self–compassion on psychological well–being (p<0.001, β=0.283) were positive and significant.

Conclusion: According to the results of the study, cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation lead to increased self–compassion, and this increased self–compassion improves students' psychological well–being.