Happiness and its related factors among Students in Golestan University of Medical Sciences

Happiness makes a positive attitude to life, a positive self-concept, a mental health and emotional balance, better educational performance, and decision-making. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between individual and educational factors on happiness among university students.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 on 238 students of Golestan University of Medical Sciences. The students participated in the study using quota and randomized sampling methods. The data were collected by Oxford happiness inventory and demographic questionnaire and were analyzed by Pearson's test, ANOVA and t-test.
Of 238 students, 56.7% were female. The mean of happiness score was 45.67±16.28. The statistical relationship between age and happiness was significant (p=0.04). There were no significant relationships between happiness and the field of study, academic average, ethnicity, marital status, and students’ economic status. The highest mean of happiness was for the Laboratory Sciences students. More than half of the students (54.8%) had average happiness level above mean score.
Regarding the students with average level of happiness, applying approaches to develop happiness in academic environment seems important.