Aim: To investigate the levels of depression, anxiety and subjective happiness, character traits, ethnocentrism and circadian preferences of students of medicine and health sciences, and to investigate the influence of certain traits on the tendency to emigrate and the choice of specialization. Material and methods: Five studies were conducted within this dissertation among medical and health sciences students (N=562; N=712; N=407; N=124; N=2137) from multiple higher education institutions in Croatia. Psychological and sociodemographic questionnaires containing questions related to the research questions of individual studies were used. Results: High prevalence of symptoms of depression (62.8% and 41.4%) and anxiety (54.5% and 76.4%) were found among the participants. Women students had significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to men students. Differences in character traits with regard to the preferred specialization group were observed for the domain of intellect. Nursing students had the highest levels of morningness, and medical laboratory diagnostics (MLD) students had the lowest. Nursing students showed higher levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness compared to other students, and medical students had higher levels of intellect compared to MLD students. A quarter of medical students expressed a preference for emigration after graduation (25.0%) and specialization (23.39%). Conclusion: Medical and health sciences students showed high levels of depression and anxiety which is a serious problem. A quarter of students expressed a preference for emigration, which is problematic considering the state of the Croatian health system.