<![CDATA[The increasing number of students pursuing higher education in Indonesia reflects growing awareness of the importance of education. However, the transition from secondary school to university requires adequate preparation due to more complex academic, social, and environmental demands. This transitional period often triggers stress among first-year students, which can affect their mental health and academic performance. Based on Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Theory, self-care functions as a protective factor that helps students adapt to academic pressures and maintain psychological balance. This study aims to analyze the role of self-care in reducing stress levels while contributing to the development of mental health promotion strategies for university students. A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional correlational design was employed. The sample consisted of 247 students from four study programs selected through proportional random sampling. Data were collected using the Self-Care Activities Screening Scale (SASS-14) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The results revealed that most students (62.8%: 155 respondents) had a moderate level of self-care, while 52.2% (respondents) experienced moderate stress and 47.4% (117 respondents) high stress. A significant negative correlation was found between self-care and stress (r = –0.289; p < 0.001), indicating that better self-care practices are associated with lower stress levels among first-year students. ]]>
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