Peer interaction and social responsibility among medical students: extracurricular activities as a mediator and achievement motivation as a moderator.

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9806550 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1087-2981 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10872981 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Med Educ Online Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2016- : Philadelphia, PA : Taylor & Francis
Original Publication: [E. Lansing, MI] : Medical Education Online, [1996-

Students, Medical*/psychology ; Motivation* ; Social Responsibility* ; Peer Group* ; Social Interaction* ; Achievement*; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Young Adult ; China ; Adult ; Interpersonal Relations ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Global healthcare challenges highlight the need to cultivate social responsibility in medical education. However, traditional teaching methods inadequately develop this competency, overlooking peer-driven mechanisms. This study proposes a moderated mediation model to explore how peer interaction impacts medical students' social responsibility, examining extracurricular activities as a mediator and achievement motivation as a moderator. Using cluster sampling, data from five waves (2014-2023) of the Student Survey of Learning and Development (SSLD) at a Chinese research university were analyzed, involving 6,546 medical students. Validated scales measured peer interaction, extracurricular activities, achievement motivation, and social responsibility. SPSS PROCESS with 5,000 bootstrap samples tested mediation and moderation effects. Peer interaction significantly and positively predicted medical students' social responsibility (β = 0.187, p < 0.001), with extracurricular activities serving as a partial mediator (indirect effect proportion: 66.51%). Crucially, achievement motivation moderated both the direct and the first half of the mediation path: Under low achievement motivation (M-1SD), the direct (simple slope = 0. 078, t = 3.723, p < 0. 001) and indirect (simple slope = 0. 387, t = 20.635, p < 0. 001) effects of peer interaction on social responsibility were statistically significant. Conversely, under high achievement motivation (M + 1SD), the direct effect became insignificant (simple slope = 0. 009, t = 0.546, p > 0. 05), and the indirect effect weakened (simple slope = 0. 295, t = 20.077, p < 0. 001). Peer interaction promotes social responsibility through extracurricular engagement, but high achievement motivation diminishes this effect. Students with strong extrinsic goals may misuse peer interaction and activities, undermining social responsibility. Structured peer support programs with reflective components are needed, especially for achievement-oriented students, to foster genuine social responsibility in medical education.

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Keywords: Peer interaction; achievement motivation; extracurricular activities; medical students; social responsibility

Date Created: 20251119 Date Completed: 20251119 Latest Revision: 20251123

20260130

PMC12636541

10.1080/10872981.2025.2585635

41261070