The mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between resilience and well-being among university students in Northwestern Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Mental well-being and resilience are closely interrelated constructs that shape university students’ ability to cope with academic and social challenges. Although prior studies have documented a positive association between these two variables, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remains underexplored. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of loneliness in the association between resilience and mental well-being among university students in north-western Bangladesh, with attention to gender differences in resilience. A cross-sectional study was employed, using self-reported semi-structured questionnaires to assess mental well-being, resilience, and loneliness among university students. The sample size was 402 university students interviewed from the May to July 2025. Mental well-being was assessed using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, resilience using the Academic Resilience Scale, and loneliness (mediator) using the UCLA 3-Item Questionnaire. Gender differences were tested using independent-samples t-tests, associations were examined with correlations, and mediation was analyzed using Hayes’ PROCESS Model 4. Mediation testing was conducted using the following model: Resilience → Loneliness → Mental Well-Being. Internal consistency was comparatively low for ARS (α = 0.608) and UCLA-3 (α = 0.65), but adequate for WEMWBS (α = 0.90). Common method bias was found using Harman’s single factor test, accounting for 31.4% of the variance—less than the 50% criterion, indicating that it was not significant. The Pearson correlation between resilience and mental well-being was significant (r = 0.296, p < 0.001), and linear regression showed that resilience predicted 8.8% of the variance in mental well-being (R² = 0.088). The association between resilience and mental well-being was found to be partially mediated by loneliness; more resilience was associated to less loneliness, which was associated to better mental well-being (indirect effect = 0.007, 95% CI: 0.001–0.017). Males reported significantly higher resilience than females (t = 2.93, p < 0.01), but there was no significant gender difference in mental well-being (t = 0.92, p > 0.05). This indicates that gender-sensitive mental health interventions are highly recommended. The results suggest that university students in the north-western region of Bangladesh have high psychological resilience and loneliness is a statistical mediator between psychological resilience and mental well-being. The cross-sectional design does not allow for causal inferences, but indicates that mental health interventions to increase resilience and decrease social isolation and social disadvantage, especially in gender-specific settings, may be beneficial.