comparison of self-esteem among first to fourth year nursing students from universities of medical sciences in tehran

background self-esteem plays a critical role in promoting mental health and affects performance, development patterns, interaction with others and the mental health. accordingly, improving the self-esteem of students, as future builders of the community, is very important. objectives the purpose of this study was to determine and compare the self-esteem of nursing students in grades one to four of medical universities in tehran. materials and methods in this analytical cross-sectional study, 400 students of the medical universities in tehran were selected, using stratified sampling with proportional allocation. they filled a demographic information form and coopersmith self-esteem inventory. data for this study were collected during a semester in 2010. results the results showed that the overall mean score of self-esteem (p = 0.3), and personal (p = 0.3), social (p = 0.5), parental self-esteem (p = 0.5) in the first and fourth year students did not differ statistically. the first and fourth year students presented the highest levels of social self-esteem. fourth year students showed the highest academic and parental self-esteem compared to students in other academic years. in addition, the variables of grade point average (p = 0.02), residence (p = 0.003), family economic status (p = 0.001) and marital status (p = 0.04) had a statistically significant influence on students’ self-esteem. conclusions given the undeniable relationship between self-esteem and interpersonal ability to interact, as an inseparable component of effective care process, assessing and identifying factors associated with nursing students is a valuable step in improving the quality of nursing care provided in a future career of this major segment of the community.