The Effects of Cognitive Social Support on Medical Students' Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Self-efficacy

499 medical students were given the Perceptual Social Support Scale and the Self-Efficacy Scale in order to investigate the link and processes between depression symptoms and these constructs. The Perceptual Social Support Scale, the Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Depression Scale were used to investigate 499 medical students. The results showed that: ①Depressive symptoms were substantially inversely correlated with perceived social support; ②The association between depressed symptoms and perceived social support was mediated by self-efficacy. Consequently, lowering depressed symptoms in medical students can be achieved through raising self-efficacy and social support.