INTRODUCTION: Various factors and motivations linked to higher education dynamics can impact professional training, academic involvement, student well-being, and dropout. Knowledge of these factors enables the adoption of more appropriate strategies to promote student retention. OBJECTIVE: Identification of potential motivations for dropping out of university and the relationship with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate nursing students. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 179 undergraduate nursing students at a public university in northeastern Brazil. Students who were actively enrolled were included and those who were on withdrawal/leave of absence from university were excluded. Data was collected using the following instruments: Sociodemographic questionnaire
Scale of Reasons for Dropping Out of Higher Education and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. RESULTS: The variables linked to students' mental health were associated with the motivational domains for dropping out. Among students with depressive symptoms, they were almost 3.5 times more likely to drop out of university for reasons related to 'Academic performance' (3.448)
while for anxiety and stress, the chances of dropping out related to 'Lack of support' increased by 3.85 and 3.2 times, respectively. CONCLUSION: Indicators of student mental health are significantly related to motivations for dropping out of university. It is hoped that this study will broaden the understanding of this phenomenon, from a multifactorial perspective, and will be a driving force behind the planning of integrated actions to improve the well-being and retention of students.