en تخصصي Special Orginal Article <p dir="rtl" lang="fa"></p> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Depression and anxiety are common mental health problems among university students and can negatively affect academic functioning, emotional adjustment, and quality of life. Female students may be especially vulnerable to internalizing symptoms. Life skills may act as modifiable protective factors by improving coping, self-awareness, decision-making, interpersonal functioning, and purpose in life. Objectives: This study examined whether total life skills and their components predict depression and anxiety among female undergraduate students. This descriptive-correlational cross-sectional study was conducted on 233 female undergraduate students at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Saatchi Life Skills Questionnaire and the 28-item General Health Questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted in SPSS-26. Age was entered as a control variable in the first step, followed by total life skills score or life skills components in the second step. Bootstrap analysis with 1000 resamples was applied to increase robustness. Total life skills significantly and negatively predicted depression and anxiety. Self-awareness training and having a purpose in life predicted lower depression. Self-awareness training, purpose in life, and mental hygiene and mental health predicted lower anxiety, while decision-making skill showed a positive coefficient. : Life skills appear to protect female students&rsquo; mental health, particularly self-awareness and purpose in life. Findings should be generalized only to similar populations.</span></span></div> Life skills, Depression, Anxiety, Female students, University students, Hierarchical regression 61 71 http://jrhms.thums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-223-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Samaneh Shahi Senobari 10031947532846002354 10031947532846002354 No Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Bahram Ali Ghanbarih Hashemabadi 10031947532846002355 10031947532846002355 Yes Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran