Echeverría Gómez, IvánPeraire Miralles, MarcPenadés, DanaideQuintero, ValentinaBenito Delegido, AnaAlmodóvar Fernández, IsabelHaro Cortés, Gonzalo RafaelUCH. TXP. Salud Mental y AdiccionesUCH. Departamento de Medicina y CirugíaProducción Científica UCH 20222023-05-052023-05-052022-07-05Echeverria, I., Peraire, M., Penadés, D., Quintero, V., Benito, A., Almodóvar, I. & Haro, G. (2022). Purpose in life and character strengths as predictors of health sciences students' psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 13, art. 932249 (07 jul.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.9322491664-0640 (Electrónico)http://hdl.handle.net/10637/14222Este artículo se encuentra disponible en la siguiente URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.932249/fullEste artículo de investigación pertenece a la sección "Public Mental Health".Background: Health sciences students experience high levels of psychopathology conditioned by psychosocial, financial, and academic factors. However, COVID-19 pandemic might even have worsened their mental health. Thus, this article aims to evaluate how the exposure to COVID-19 pandemic has affected these students’ mental health and to determine the effect of purpose in life and character strengths on this psychopathology. Methods: A cross-sectional study of unpaired samples was carried out in Spain during the first and third waves of the pandemic in 70 medical and 52 nursing students. Results: The risk factor that most determined the appearance of anxiety was the exposure of family and friends to COVID-19 (OR = 4.01; p < 0.001), while the most protective factors were honesty (OR = –1.14; p = 0.025) and purpose in life (OR = – 0.18; p < 0.001). Purpose in life also protected against the onset of depression and total psychopathology. In addition, we observed studying medicine was a protective factor against total psychopathology while being a nursing student was associated with high levels of acute stress. Conclusion: Exposure of the students’ family and friends to SARS-CoV-2 favored the appearance of symptoms of anxiety. Honesty had a preventing role in the onset of anxiety and a high purpose in life was protective against the appearance of anxiety, depression, and total psychopathology.application/pdfenopen accessPsicopatología.Estudiantes de medicina - Salud mental.Estudiantes de enfermería - Salud mental.Medical students - Mental health.COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-Psychology, Pathological.Nursing students - Mental health.Pandemia de la Covid-19, 2020-Artículohttps://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.932249https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es