Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mental health is a fundamental and widespread concept with individual meanings. The purpose of this study is to perceive and clarify the factors influencing mental health from the perspectives of nursing students. METHODS: The present qualitative study was conducted in Khoy, Iran from July-December 2018. Twenty nursing students were selected as the research participants through purposeful sampling method and interviewed using semi-structured in-depth interviews. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed with Graneheim and Lundman's approach of conventional content analysis. The Trail version of the MAXQDA 10 software was applied to conduct the coding process. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed four themes and 12 sub-themes. The themes included feeling of self-worth, religious beliefs, socio-economic factors, and behavioral factors. CONCLUSION: The results showed that mental health in nursing students is a multidimensional phenomenon and is influenced by various factors. The current results could help the nurse educators to intervene and provide suitable, effective, practicable, and culture based mental health services and also help the nursing students achieve mental stability. Therefore, it is suggested that further qualitative and interventional studies should be conducted in this area.