Levels of Positive Mental Health in Portuguese and Spanish Nursing Students

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Positive mental health (PMH) is described as the sense of feeling good and functioning well. PMH is vital for the individual’s positive functioning and psychological well-being, particularly regarding the factors important for living a purposeful life and accomplishing personal goals. Nursing students are exposed to a variety of stressors that are very likely to decrease well-being and trigger stress, anxiety, and depression. Data focusing on PMH in nursing students are lacking, and this subject has been frequently neglected in nursing practice and research on positive functioning. AIMS: To assess positive mental health levels in two samples of nursing students. METHODS: A quantitative cross-sectional study. A convenience sample of 2,238 nursing students with an average age of 21 years (17-36 years old) were recruited from two nursing schools—Porto (Portugal) and Barcelona (Spain). The Positive Mental Health Questionnaire and sociodemographic items were used to measure the PMH. RESULTS: The majority of participants were female (88.6%), and 7.7% had physical health problem and 2.6% referred to a mental health problem. The mean PMH score was 83.4, indicating a good PMH level. A total of 58.4% reported a moderate PMH, and only 0.5% indicated low PMH level. Results were not significantly different between genders ( p > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study make important contributions to our understanding of PMH levels in a large sample of nursing students and the efficacy of Positive Mental Health Questionnaire, which is an accurate tool to measure PMH. Our findings also prompt discussion about PMH and its implications for practice and teaching.