Abstract
Introduction: Mental health is defined as the well-being in which an individual realizes his/her potential, is able to cope with normal life stress, and can be productive for the community. Compared to the general population, students under 25 years are more susceptible to various mental difficulties and disorders.
 Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the differences in the mental health of nursing students with regard to previous education and association between mental health, satisfaction with studying, age and year of study.
 Methods: The study was conducted on a sample of 76 students, by using the MHS-38 Mental Health Inventory, which examines anxiety, depression, loss of control, well-being, emotional ties, general positive affect, life satisfaction, and the mental health index. To test the differences between the results on mental health scales and students' satisfaction with respect to prior education, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. Association between variables was analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Linear regression was used to identify predictors of student’s mental health.
 Results: The nursing students with prior vocational education had lower well-being, emotional ties, general positive affect and higher levels of depression, and showed lower life satisfaction scores than students with prior general education. In spite of that, students with prior vocational education showed higher scores in the Mental Health Inventory which indicates better mental health. The study’s satisfaction has a significant contribution to mental health, with no contribution of previous education.
 Conclusion: There is a difference in the mental health status of nursing students with regard to previous education. The mental health of nursing students is connected with age and satisfaction with studying. Further research is needed to establish a real relationship between mental health and students' satisfaction in the sense of causative consequence, and real differences in respect to the students' prior education.
Highlights
Mental health is defined as the well-being in which an individual realizes his/her potential, is able to cope with normal life stress, and can be productive for the community
We suppose that students with previous vocational education compensate the occurrence of negative symptoms better and there is no significant reduction in the overall mental health index
The results of our research indicate that the mental health status of nursing students is connected to the satisfaction with studies
Summary
Mental health is defined as the well-being in which an individual realizes his/her potential, is able to cope with normal life stress, and can be productive for the community. Mental health is defined as the well-being in which an individual realizes his or her potential, is capable of dealing with normal life stress and can be productive and contribute to the community (World Health Organization, 2014). Negative mental health of the individual implies mental difficulties and dysfunctional behavior, difficult participation in community life, inability to work, weakening of social relationships and general dissatisfaction with life (Keyes, 2002). The person with good mental health is mostly positive and satisfied Such a person is able to create and maintain friendships, embrace other people, deal with stress and everyday life and work challenges. The absence of mental illness of an individual does not simultaneously imply the presence of positive mental health (Keyes, 2002)
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