Background and purpose: Monitoring of health and its determinants in general population is essential for development of societies, promoting health and disease prevention programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of social support and self-efficacy with mental health and life satisfaction in individuals living in suburbs of Kermanshah, Iran.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in summer of 2015 on 438 residents of Kermanshah suburbs who were selected using multistage cluster sampling. Data was collected using demographic characteristic form, Perceived Social Support Scale, General Self-efficacy Scale (GSE), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and general health Questionnaire (GHQ). Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation and Structural Equation Modeling in SPSS version 18 and Amos software, respectively.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 29.87±11.43 years and 45% were male. The mean age of the participants was no significant difference between the males and females regarding the main variables of the study (P>0.05). The mean scores for perceived social support, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, and GHQ were 38.95, 27.22, 13.41, and 15.58, respectively. According to the results, self-efficacy had a mediating role in the relationship of social support and life satisfaction with mental health.

Conclusion: The mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship of social support with life satisfaction and general health, suggests that social support can enhance life satisfaction and reduce mental disorders when self-efficacy is high.