{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T01:58:10Z","timestamp":1775095090205,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,23]],"date-time":"2025-08-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755907200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["EJIHPE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: In recent decades, the relationship between mental health and well-being has been explored from many perspectives, with emphasis on the two-continua model of health in different contexts, with an emphasis on young higher education students. Both mental health and well-being are considered predictors of academic success. This study aims to analyze the relationship between mental health and well-being among first- and fourth-year nursing students. The sample consisted of 473 nursing students from a university in the central region of mainland Portugal. Methods: Data were collected using the short versions of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Mental Health Continuum\u2014Short Form (MHC-SF). Results: Canonical correlation analysis revealed a significant negative association between psychological distress and mental well-being. The first statistically significant canonical function (p &lt; 0.05; Cr = 0.601) was primarily defined by depression (canonical loading = \u22120.992) in the distress group and emotional well-being (canonical loading = 0.948) in the well-being group. Redundancy analysis confirmed a significant interdependence: variables related to psychological distress explained 27.8% of the variance in well-being, while well-being variables explained 23.8% of the variance in distress. Conclusions: These results reinforce the two-continua model, highlighting the need to address both mental health and well-being throughout higher education.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe15090169","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]],"date-time":"2025-08-25T00:09:32Z","timestamp":1756080572000},"page":"169","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Mental Health and Well-Being of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Canonical Correlation Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2384-6266","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu\u00eds","family":"Loureiro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra, 3046-851 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Amorim","family":"Rosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra, 3046-851 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"T\u00e2nia","family":"Morgado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra, 3046-851 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Rosa","family":"Sim\u00f5es","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra, 3046-851 Coimbra, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2955","DOI":"10.1017\/S0033291716001665","article-title":"Mental disorders among college students in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys","volume":"46","author":"Auerbach","year":"2016","journal-title":"Psychological Medicine"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"665","DOI":"10.1177\/0743558407306344","article-title":"The importance of friends: Friendship and adjustment among 1st-year university students","volume":"22","author":"Buote","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Adolescent Research"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Candeias, A. 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