School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Institute of Medical Humanities, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; School of Marxism, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Acta Psychol (Amst). 2024 Oct;250:104543. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104543. Epub 2024 Oct 30.
Prosocial behavior is essential for effective patient communication and building a positive doctor-patient relationship in medical students. Research on the factors influencing prosocial behavior in medical students is limited. This research aims to examine how perceived social support influences prosocial behavior among medical students, focusing on the mediating role of empathy and the moderating role of moral identity.
This cross-sectional study included 2425 medical students from central and southern Jiangsu province. Participants were assessed using the Prosocial Behavior Scale, Interpersonal Response Index Scale, Moral Identity Scale, and Perceived Social Support Scale, with data collected through via an online questionnaire. SPSS PROCESS macro model 4.1 was used to examine the mediating effect and the moderating effect.
Perceived social support showed a significant positive correlation with prosocial behavior among medical students. The indirect effects of perceived social support on prosocial behavior through perspective taking (β = 0.11, 95% Boot CI [0.09, 0.13]) and empathic concern (β = 0.08, 95% Boot CI [0.06, 0.10]) confirmed the mediating roles of these variables, accounting for 32.05% and 23.82% of the total effect, respectively. However, personal distress did not mediate this relationship (β = -0.004, 95% Boot CI [-0.01, 0.005]). Moral identity significantly moderated the effect of perceived social support on perspective taking (β = 0.05, p < 0.01) and the relationship between perspective taking and prosocial behavior (β = 0.12, p < 0.001). Additionally, moral identity also moderated the relationships between perceived social support and empathic concern (β = -0.05, p < 0.01) and between empathic concern and prosocial behavior (β = 0.08, p < 0.001). While the interaction between perceived social support and moral identity predicted personal distress (β = 0.04, p < 0.05), moral identity did not moderate the relationship between personal distress and prosocial behavior (β = 0.03, p = 0.12).
This study underscores the link between perceived social support and prosocial behavior, highlighting the significant roles of perspective taking, empathic concern, and moral identity in this relationship. These findings underscore the potential of cultivating these psychological mechanisms to foster caring and prosocial behaviors among medical students, providing important references for future educational interventions and policy formulation.
亲社会行为对于医学生进行有效的医患沟通和建立积极的医患关系至关重要。关于影响医学生亲社会行为的因素的研究有限。本研究旨在探讨感知社会支持如何影响医学生的亲社会行为，重点关注同理心的中介作用和道德认同的调节作用。
这是一项横断面研究，纳入了来自江苏省中部和南部的 2425 名医学生。使用亲社会行为量表、人际反应指数量表、道德认同量表和感知社会支持量表对参与者进行评估，通过在线问卷收集数据。使用 SPSS PROCESS macro model 4.1 检验中介效应和调节效应。
感知社会支持与医学生的亲社会行为呈显著正相关。感知社会支持通过观点采择（β=0.11，95%Boot CI [0.09，0.13]）和共情关注（β=0.08，95%Boot CI [0.06，0.10]）对亲社会行为的间接影响证实了这些变量的中介作用，分别占总效应的 32.05%和 23.82%。然而，个人痛苦并没有介导这种关系（β=-0.004，95%Boot CI [-0.01，0.005]）。道德认同显著调节了感知社会支持对观点采择（β=0.05，p<0.01）和观点采择与亲社会行为之间关系（β=0.12，p<0.001）的影响。此外，道德认同还调节了感知社会支持与共情关注（β=-0.05，p<0.01）和共情关注与亲社会行为（β=0.08，p<0.001）之间的关系。虽然感知社会支持和道德认同的交互作用预测了个人痛苦（β=0.04，p<0.05），但道德认同并没有调节个人痛苦与亲社会行为之间的关系（β=0.03，p=0.12）。
本研究强调了感知社会支持与亲社会行为之间的联系，突出了观点采择、共情关注和道德认同在这种关系中的重要作用。这些发现为未来的教育干预和政策制定提供了重要参考，强调了培养这些心理机制以促进医学生关爱和亲社会行为的潜力。
