What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to investigate how peer support influences medical students' intention to seek psychological help, focusing on stigma and self-efficacy.

February 23, 2026Open Access

The influence of peer support on medical students’ professional psychological help-seeking intention: the chain mediating role of professional psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Peer support positively influences medical students' intention to seek professional psychological help through the mediating roles of psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.SUPPORTS_CONSENSUS.

CYChengrui YeXiamen University YXY U Q I A O XieDalian Medical University SPSaidi PuUniversity of Southern California

Key Points

The research aims to investigate how peer support influences medical students' intention to seek psychological help, focusing on stigma and self-efficacy.
Convenience sampling of 1,087 medical students
Surveys using standardized instruments for peer support, help-seeking intention, stigma, and self-efficacy
Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses via SPSS 26.0
Chain mediation model constructed with the PROCESS 4.0 macro
Psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy independently mediated the relationship between peer support and help-seeking intention
Effect sizes for stigma and self-efficacy mediation were 0.078 and 0.064, respectively
Significant chain mediation effect observed with an effect size of 0.015
Lower stigma and higher self-efficacy enhanced the impact of peer support on help-seeking intention

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the path mechanism of professional psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy in the influence of peer support on professional psychological help-seeking intention among medical students. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 1,087 medical students for the survey. Data were collected using four standardized instruments: the Peer Support Scale, the Professional Psychological Help-Seeking Intention Questionnaire, the Professional Psychological Help-Seeking Stigma Questionnaire, and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0. Furthermore, a chain mediation model was constructed using Model 6 of the PROCESS 4.0 macro to examine the mediating roles of psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy in the association between peer support and professional psychological help-seeking intention. The analysis revealed that both psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy independently mediated the relationship between peer support and professional psychological help-seeking intention, with effect sizes of 0.078 (95% CI: 0.049–0.111) and 0.064 (95% CI: 0.036–0.095), respectively. In addition, a significant chain mediation effect was observed, with peer support being associated with professional psychological help-seeking intention via a sequential pathway characterised by lower psychological help-seeking stigma and higher self-efficacy. The effect size of this chain mediating pathway was 0.015 (95% CI: 0.007–0.024). In summary, peer support, professional psychological help-seeking stigma, and self-efficacy were identified as key factors shaping medical students’ professional psychological help-seeking intention. The findings further highlight that professional psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy jointly function as a chain mediating mechanism through which peer support exerts an influence on students’ professional psychological help-seeking intention.

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