Self-efficacy and factors associated with it among first- to third- year undergraduate medical students: a single-center cross-sectional study in China

With the intensification of global medical industry competition, medical students face increasing academic pressure. As a core psychological resource, general self-efficacy is closely associated with their academic adjustment, mental health and career development attitude. This study aimed to investigate the self-efficacy level and factors associated with it among first- to third-year undergraduate medical students at a single medical university in Shandong Province, China, and to provide evidence for targeted educational interventions in similar institutions.

The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) was used to conduct a questionnaire survey among first- to third-year undergraduate medical students at a single medical university in Shandong Province, China. A total of 2977 questionnaires were distributed. A total of 2773 valid questionnaires were finally included for analysis using SPSS 26.0 software.

The average general self-efficacy score of the 2773 first- to third-year undergraduate medical students was 2.57 ± 0.64. Multivariate linear regression showed that gender, age, left-behind experience, self-reported health status, professional preference, and family annual income were significantly associated with general self-efficacy. The self-efficacy score of first- to third-year undergraduate medical students in this single-center sample is at the lower-middle level.

When formulating training programs, medical colleges should pay attention to students’ physical and mental health and family background according to their different characteristics, and take individualized measures to improve the self-efficacy of lower-year undergraduate medical students in similar settings. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the study participants for their voluntary and valuable participation in this research. We also thank all the people who have provided generous help and support for the completion of this article.

Haoge Bai, Shusen Liu and Xingmeng Niu are co-first authors. Clinical Medical College, Jining Medical University, Jining, 272002, Shandong Province, China Haoge Bai, Xinqi Li, Yanzhi Liu & Hao Sun School of Pharmacy, Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, 150076, China School of Public Health, Shandong Second Medical University, Taishan District, Tai’an City, 261053, Shandong Province, China College of Medical Imaging and Laboratory, Jining Medical University, Jining, 272067, Shandong Province, China Department of Endocrinology, Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, China The authors declare no competing interests. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Data collection was carried out in 2024, and retrospective ethical approval was subsequently obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of Jining Medical University (approval number: JNMC-YX-2025-052). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.