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[Materialistic values and depression in medical students:the mediating effect of meaning in life]
Siyao Tang1, Rong Xiao1, Ruixue Zhang1
1Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Objective:
To explore the relationship between materialistic values and depression in medical students.
Methods:
A random sample of 1158 college students from a medical university in Guangdong Province was investigated using the materialism tendency scale (MTS), the simplified version of purpose in life test (PIL-SF) and the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9).
Results:
The survey showed that 17.33% of the students had obvious depressive symptoms. A negative correlation was found between the materialistic values and the meaning in life (r=-0.229, P < 0.01) in these students; materialistic values were positively correlated with depression (r=0.246, P < 0.01), and the meaning in life was negatively correlated with depression (r=-0.476, P < 0.01). Meaning in life mediated the relationship between materialistic values and depression, which accounted for 41.2% of the total effects.
Conclusions:
Meaning in life partially mediates the relationship between materialistic values and depression.
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