Happiness Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Study Among Iranian Medical Students

Abstract

Background: During the recent decades, happiness and psychological wellbeing have been among the most attractive issues for researchers in the fields of social sciences and health. Medical and paramedical students in comparison with other college students are less happy due to work circumstance in hospital and special education. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate happinessamongcollege students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in terms of socio-demographic variables. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional web-based study, all the students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in Iran who had course classes were invited to participate in the study and 541 students filled out the web-based questionnaire including questions for measuring happiness oxford happiness questionnaire (OHQ), health status, stress experience in the past six months, cigarette and hookah smoking, physical activity rapid assessment of physical activity (RAPA), as well as socio-economic and demographic information. Results: The mean happiness score was 114.59 ± 18.31. Socio-economic status, physical activity, and experience of stress in the last 6 months were related to the happiness score (P = 0.009, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). However, gender, cigarette smoking, hookah smoking and body mass index were not significantly correlated with happiness. Conclusions: The findings of the present study show that a happiness score among our sample study was slightly low and people with high happiness scores had a healthier lifestyle, i.e. more physical activity and less tobacco smoking. College students should be encouraged to do regular exercise as a way to increase the happiness level. Keywords: Happiness, Tobacco Smoking, Life Satisfaction, Physical Activity, Students