Journal of Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences

Background & Aim: Happiness is one of the most fundamental needs of human mental health. Since the students are human resources and architects of future of the country, their mental health is very important. Therefore, this study is carried out to investigate the happiness status and its related factors in the students of Birjand University of medical science in 2013.

Methods: In this descriptive/analytical study, 349 students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences which had inclusion criteria were selected by multistage sampling. After obtaining written consent from participants, the data were collected using the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire through self-report. Data were analyzed by SPSS software.

Results: The mean age of students was 21.9±2.3 and the mean score of students' happiness was 44.1±12.09. There was a significant difference between happiness score and sex (p<0.001), location (p=0.019) and interest in discipline (p<0.004). However, there was no significant difference between happiness and the other personal characteristics of students (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The findings showed that the happiness status in students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences is relatively good. Since some groups of students had lower levels of happiness, further attention to them seems to be essential.