Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating academic help-seeking in the relationship between academic hope and academic well-being.
Method: The research method was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-correlational in terms of data collection method. The statistical population of the research was all high school students in Shiraz in the academic year 2024-2025, among whom 516 students (223 boys and 293 girls) were selected using a multi-stage random cluster sampling method and responded to the Academic Hope Questionnaire Khormaee & Kamari, Academic Well-Being Questionnaire Tuominen-Soini et al., and Academic Help-Seeking Scale Ryan & Pintrich. Structural equation analysis was used to analyze the data using SPSS-26 and AMOS-24 software.
Results: The findings showed that the research model had a good fit with the collected data. Also, the findings showed that academic hope had a positive and significant effect on acceptance of help-seeking and a negative and significant effect on avoidance of help-seeking. While avoiding help-seeking did not have a significant effect on academic well-being, acceptance of help-seeking had a positive and significant effect on academic well-being. Also, academic hope indirectly had a significant indirect effect on academic well-being through help-seeking avoidance and help-seeking acceptance, and the simultaneous effect of the two.
Conclusions: The study shows academic hope indirectly enhances students' academic well-being through help-seeking. Findings highlight the importance of educational programs and interventions that strengthen academic hope and help-seeking skills, guiding teachers and planners to improve academic well-being.