Social participation and depressive symptomatology among medical students A Saudi cross-sectional study

مقال فى مجلة

2025

Abstract
Substantial evidence indicates that social participation contributes significantly to psychological well-being. Furthermore, medical
students have emerged as a prominent demographic group affected by depression. This trend is mirrored locally in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, where medical students exhibit a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms. This cross-sectional study investigated
the association between depressive symptoms and social participation among medical students. Additionally, this study examined
whether different forms of social participation had varying effects on depressive symptoms among the participants. The authors
measured depressive symptoms and social participation scores among 650 undergraduate medical students from the 1st to the
5th year at King Saud University and Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study
tool consisted of a questionnaire developed by the research team to explore sociodemographic and other related information,
the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess depression severity, and the modified social participation questionnaire to
assess social participation. Higher social participation was significantly associated with lower severity of depression (P < .001).
Group activities (OR = 0.95, 95% CI, 0.92–0.97, P < .001) and informal interactions (OR = 0.97, 95% CI, 0.96–0.99, P = .008)
had a stronger inverse correlation with depression levels than community-based involvement (OR = 0.78, 95% CI, 0.64–0.96,
P = .017). A prior diagnosis of a mental health disorder was significantly associated with higher depression severity (OR = 2.04,
95% CI, 1.38–3.02, P < .001). A significant association between sex and depression levels was observed (P = .043), with females
experiencing severe depression at higher proportions (65.4%) than males (34.6%). Female students had significantly lower social
participation scores than male students (beta = −6.62, 95% CI, −8.84 to −4.40, P < .001). The results of this study support the
notion that social participation is significantly correlated with lower depressive symptoms among medical students, highlighting its
role in enhancing mental well-being and reducing depression burden.
Abbreviations: GPA = grade point average, IMSIU = Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, KSA = Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, KSU = King Saud University, PHQ-9 = Patient Health Questionnaire-9, SPQ = Social Participation Questionnaire,
YLDs = years lived with disability.

Keywords: depressive symptoms, medical students, Saudi Arabia, social participation

 

How to cite this article: Aljaffer MA, Alahmari SA, Alharbi TN, ibn Saqyan MF, Alkhunein FM, Alsulimi AS, Sultan AA, Alghamdi AH, Almadani AH. Social participation and depressive symptomatology among medical students: A Saudi cross-sectional study. Medicine 2025;104:42(e45174).