The role of introverted personality and social support in the mediating effects of depression and loneliness for medical students

Objective To explore the effect of depression on loneliness in medical students', and the mediating effects of introverted personality and social support. Methods EPQ, UCLA, SSRS, and POMS questionnaire were used, and surveyed data was collected from Dalian Medical University medical students. Results The scores of depressive mood, introverted personality, social support and loneliness were (17.77±4.45), (11.97±5.21), (34.52±6.15) and (38.02±6.36). Depression was positively related to loneliness and introverted personality (r=0.286, 0.508, P<0.01), and social support was negatively related to loneliness (r=-0.443, P<0.01). Introverted personality was positively related to loneliness(r=0.401, P<0.01). The total effect value was 0.670.The mediating effect of introversion as mediator variable was 0.221, accounting for 33% of the total effect.Social support as intermediary variable, intermediary effect value was 0.449, accounting for 67% of the total effect.Standard value of mediating effect between depression and introverted personality showed as 0.508 (95%CI=0.475-0.725, P<0.01), standard value of mediating effect between depression and social support showed as -0.150 (95%CI=0.989-1.469, P<0.01), introverted personality was the mediating variant of depression and loneliness, standard value of mediating effect was 0.156 (95%CI=0.080-0.232, P<0.01), social support was the mediating variant of depression and loneliness, standard value of mediating effect was 0.317 (95%CI=0.177-0.457, P<0.01). Conclusions Introverted personality and social support play an intermediary role between depression and loneliness. Key words: Medical student; Loneliness; Multiple mediation models; Personality; Social support