Materialistic values and their association with depression in medical postgraduates: materialism leads to higher risk of depression.
10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.06.11
- Author:
Xia LV
1
;
Rong XIAO
1
Author Information
1. Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
clinical medicine professional degree postgraduate student;
depression;
materialistic values;
values
- MeSH:
Humans;
Depression/epidemiology*;
Surveys and Questionnaires;
Female;
Adult;
Male;
Middle Aged;
Risk Factors
- From:
Journal of Southern Medical University
2025;45(6):1220-1225
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES:To explore the values of materialism in medical postgraduates and its relationship with depression.
METHODS:We conducted a survey among 592 postgraduates in clinical medicine using Materialism Tendency Scale (MTS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Descriptive analysis, mean comparison, and correlation analysis were used for data analysis.
RESULTS:The postgraduates had a mean total score of materialism of 56.36±10.44, and 11.8%, 54.1%, and 34.1% of them reported high, medium, and low levels of materialism, respectively. No significant differences were found in the total score of materialism among the postgraduates of different genders or with different family economic levels, but the postgraduates from urban families had a significantly higher level of materialism than those from rural families (P<0.001). 18.4% of the postgraduates screened positive for moderate to severe depressive symptoms. The total score of MTS was positively correlated with depression (r=0.289, P<0.001). The dimension scores of MTS for materialism obsessions, material vanity, material interest, and material pursuit were all positively correlated with depression (r=0.183-0.289, P<0.001). The depressive symptoms and their overall levels differed significantly among individuals with different levels of materialism, and higher levels of materialism were associated with severer depressive symptoms (F=18.792, P<0.001) and a higher positive rate of depression (χ2=27.528, P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS:Materialistic values may increase the risk of depression among medical postgraduates.
