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Introduction
Starting out at a university is usually an important turning point for most young people and also a stress factor (Hicks and Heastie, 2008). First-year students can experience psychological strain because of factors that include leaving home for the first time, being away from the safety their parents provide, adapting to a new lifestyle, academic work, planning a career, coping with a competitive atmosphere and changing living conditions (Sarokhani et al., 2013; Al-Nakeeb et al., 2015). In this time of transition, those who can manage their anxieties, form successful relationships, display self-confidence, take on responsibility, have goals and plans for the future, spare time for social activities, create a balance between themselves and their surroundings and live in harmony are able to adapt easily (Seven, 2018). Those, however, who have difficulty fulfilling their duties, roles and responsibilities and are not good at adapting to new and challenging situations can exhibit a variety of psychological problems (Jackson et al., 2007). Among these are interpersonal communications and adaptation issues, anxiety, hostility, eating and sleeping disorders, panic attacks, phobic disorders, obsessions, academic failure, depression and suicidal tendencies (Demirel et al., 2011; Koç et al., 2013; Maddah et al., 2020). Psychological problems experienced in the university years may cause disruptions in young people’s performance. To ensure that students become the successful individuals who will be an asset to society in the future, it is important that their mental health issues be diagnosed early and addressed promptly (Pedrelli et al., 2015).
Health sciences students are the health experts of the future who will work to protect and improve human health. At the same time, they will be providing individuals with counseling on general health behaviors. More importantly, they can become a role model to help students in adopting a healthy lifestyle. It is for this reason that it is important that health sciences students develop healthy behaviors that reflect their professional status and that they are also healthy from a mental health perspective.
The best time to start intervention programs targeting health improvement among university students is the first year that they arrive on campus, a period in which changes and needs are at their most intense. To ensure the success of...