Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis

Semih Aşiret

doi:10.63612/ijesp.1935200

Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis

Abstract

12th-grade students preparing for the Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) experience the psychosocial demands of a high-stakes examination process while also transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. Increased loneliness during this period may negatively affect students' flourishing. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of loneliness on flourishing and the mediating role of test anxiety in this relationship using structural equation modeling. A cross-sectional and correlational design was used with 1435 12th-grade students from different school types in Turkiye. Data were collected using the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Westside Test Anxiety Scale and the Flourishing Scale. Analyses were conducted with the lavaan package in R 4.5.1. Because the assumption of multivariate normality was not met, robust maximum likelihood estimation was used. The mediating effect was tested using bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5000 resamples. Fit indices of the structural model were acceptable (χ²/df = 3.89; CFI = .919; TLI = .902; RMSEA = .049; SRMR = .047). Loneliness positively predicted test anxiety, test anxiety negatively predicted flourishing and loneliness had a strong direct negative effect on flourishing. Test anxiety partially mediated the relationship between loneliness and flourishing, accounting for approximately 9.2% of the total effect. The model explained 50.8% of the variance in flourishing. These findings point to the importance of reducing loneliness to support students' flourishing during high-stakes test preparation.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

The ethics application for the study was made on 26/12/2025 and the research was carried out with the approval of Mersin University Educational Sciences Ethics Commission dated 13/01/2026 and numbered 21.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Measurement Theories and Applications in Education and Psychology

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Semih Aşiret ^*
0000-0002-0577-2603
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

May 25, 2026

Publication Date

-

Submission Date

April 21, 2026

Acceptance Date

May 20, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication

DOI

https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1935200

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA26BH67FJ

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Aşiret, S. (2026). Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy, Advanced Online Publication, 289-301. https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1935200

AMA

1.Aşiret S. Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis. IJESP. 2026;(Advanced Online Publication):289-301. doi:10.63612/ijesp.1935200

Chicago

Aşiret, Semih. 2026. “Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis”. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy, no. Advanced Online Publication: 289-301. https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1935200.

EndNote

Aşiret S (May 1, 2026) Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy Advanced Online Publication 289–301.

IEEE

[1]S. Aşiret, “Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis”, IJESP, no. Advanced Online Publication, pp. 289–301, May 2026, doi: 10.63612/ijesp.1935200.

ISNAD

Aşiret, Semih. “Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis”. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy. Advanced Online Publication (May 1, 2026): 289-301. https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1935200.

JAMA

1.Aşiret S. Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis. IJESP. 2026;:289–301.

MLA

Aşiret, Semih. “Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis”. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy, no. Advanced Online Publication, May 2026, pp. 289-01, doi:10.63612/ijesp.1935200.

Vancouver

1.Semih Aşiret. Loneliness, Test Anxiety and Flourishing Among Turkish Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam: A Mediation Analysis. IJESP. 2026 May 1;(Advanced Online Publication):289-301. doi:10.63612/ijesp.1935200