Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Background and ObjectiveS: Mental health is one of the important factors of health. The mental health of medical students is important as it relates to general health of people. The current study aimed to compare the mental health of first-year and last-year of nursing and midwifery faculty students.

Materials and methods: In this descriptive study all the students who had been enrolled in 2012- 2013 entered the study. The data were gathered using the standard SCL 90 questionnaire. Demographic information was also gathered. Considering the acquisition of 0-332 scores, the mental health was categorized as: no mental disorder (0-84), low mental disorder (85-168), medium mental disorder (169-253) and high mental disorder (254-332). In each dimension, the mean score of 0-1, 1.01-2, 2.01-3 and 3.01-4 respectively considered as no impairment, mild impairment, moderate, and severe.The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, independent t test and chi-square test.

Results: Two hundred and fifty students participated in this study. The mean and standard deviation of the mental health of the students were 65.13±46.20 in first-year students 71.56±50.54 and in last-year students 50.41±29.65 (p=0.001). The most prevalent disorders were paranoid delusion, obsessive compulsive disorder and sensitivity in interrelationships. The relationship between the gender and mental health was significant (p=0.031).

Conclusion: The female first-year students need more support compared to the male last-year onse to improve their mental health. New measures should be adopted to identify the effective factors in the mental health and ways of removing these disorders.

Key words: Mental health, Students, SCL90, First-year, Last-year

Funding: This study was funded by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences.

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences approved the study.

How to cite this article: Hadavi M, Yazdani M, Khodadadi A, Hashemi Z, Aminzadeh F. Comparison of the Mental Health Status of First- and Last-year Students of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedical Faculty of Rafsanjan based on SCL90 in 2012. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2014 13(8): 549-60. [Farsi]