relationship of metacognitive strategies and attachment styles with school belonging among secondary school students in zahedan, iran

Background and purpose: the adolescence period followed by childhood is accompanied by changes in individuals, including the tendency of being independent. this study aimed to investigate the relationship of metacognitive strategies and attachment styles with the sense of school belonging among high school students in zahedan, iran. materials and methods: this correlational study was conducted on a sample consisting of 370 students selected by simple clusterrandom sampling from all secondary school students in zahedan. the required data were collected using questionnaires, namely the school sense of belonging questionnaire (2004), metacognitive state questionnaire (1996), and attachment questionnaire (1991). the gathered data were analyzed in amos software (version 22) and spss software (version 22) using the pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation model. results: based on the results, metacognitive awareness (β=0.31, p<0.001), cognitive strategy (β=0.24, p=0.045), planning (β=0.23, p=0.003), and self-review (β=0.28, p<0.001) had positive effects on the sense of school belonging. it was also revealed that a secure attachment style (β=0.17, p=0.021) had a positive effect on school belonging. furthermore, avoidance attachment style (β=-0.27, p<0.001) and ambivalent attachment style (β=-0.23, p=0.003) negatively affected the sense of belonging to school. conclusion: it can be concluded that metacognitive strategies components had a positive and direct effect on the sense of school belonging. moreover, a secure attachment style had a positive effect on school belonging, and an avoidance attachment style and ambivalent attachment style had negative effects on the sense of belonging to school.