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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Educ.
Sec. Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1523310
This article is part of the Research Topic Psychoeducational Approaches to Mental Health for Educators and Students View all 12 articles

Enhancing Resilience: The Impact of a Near-Peer Mentoring Program on Medical Students

Provisionally accepted
Lea Pölczman Lea Pölczman 1,2*Dorottya Árva Dorottya Árva 3,4Zsuzsa Győrffy Zsuzsa Győrffy 1Márk Jámbor Márk Jámbor 1András Végh András Végh 1,5Gergő Kristóf Gergő Kristóf 1György Purebl György Purebl 1Edmond Girasek Edmond Girasek 1
  • 1 Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
  • 2 Psychology Program, Faculty of Business, University of Europe for Applied Sciences,, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
  • 3 Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis Universitx, Budapest, Hungary
  • 4 MTA-PTE Innovative Health Pedagogy Research Group, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
  • 5 Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Emerging adulthood is a vulnerable period and can be a crisis for many youth, leading to serious mental health problems. Medical students are especially vulnerable due to their high exposure to stressors, requiring enhanced resilience to cope with academic challenges. This study measured the effectiveness of a near-peer mentoring program in terms of resilience.Methods: A non-randomised controlled trial was conducted at Semmelweis University involving 133 medical students. The case group (n=94) comprised students who participated in a mentoring program as mentors or mentees. The control group (n=39) did not participate in mentoring. Data was collected at two points, five months apart, at the semester's start (August 2022) and end (February 2023). Self-report measures included sociodemographics, resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), and depression (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale).Results: Results showed a significant increase in resilience for the case group compared to the control group (F(1, 129) = 5.578, p = 0.020), with no significant main effect of time. There was a significant interaction effect between intervention and time on resilience (F(1.000, 129.000) = 4.915, p = 0.028).Depression scores showed no significant group difference but a significant main effect of time (F(1.000, 129.000) = 4.725, p = 0.032) and the interaction effect between intervention and time on depression (F(1.000, 129.000) = 4.018, p = 0.047).Discussion: This mentoring program effectively increased resilience and helped maintain mental health, contributing to developing skilled healthcare professionals-where resilience remains a key strength for 21st-century doctors.

    Keywords: Medical students, Peer mentoring program, resilience, Depression, nonrandomised controlled trial

    Received: 05 Nov 2024; Accepted: 31 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Pölczman, Árva, Győrffy, Jámbor, Végh, Kristóf, Purebl and Girasek. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lea Pölczman, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, 1089, Budapest, Hungary

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.