本研究之目的是在探討大學生察覺「他人受苦」的心理面貌,以苦難覺察及個人宗教性、同理心與利他行為等面向,探討醫學教育的可行方向。本研究是以「苦難覺察量表」及「個人宗教性」、「同理心」與「利他行為」等工具,針對一般大學院校學生與醫學院學生共365名進行量化研究。分析結果顯示:性別在苦難覺察中「反省關懷」和「罪責論斷」的分項上有顯著差異,而個人宗教性的六個分項在同理心的「同理情感」、「同理表達」,及「利他行為」上都呈現有顯著的差異。非醫學系學生與醫學系學生對於「苦難覺察」、「個人宗教性」與「利他行為」的差異亦達到顯著。研究對象之同理心的預測因子則包括性別、個人宗教性中的「死後世界」、「業報思想」、「生命意義」及苦難覺察中的「反省關懷」、「超越對錯」、「律法主義」與「罪責論斷」。「學系別(醫學系與非醫學系)」、「生命意義」、「反省關懷」與「性格歸因」等則是研究對象利他行為之預測因子。研究之結果可提供作為醫學教育實施之參考。
The purpose of this study was to explore the dimensions of awareness which college students have toward the sufferings of other people. Additionally, this study aimed to investigate the relationships among awareness of suffering, empathy, and helping behaviors of medical and general college students. Research participants were recruited from one general university and one medical university. A total of 365 college students completed the following instruments measuring the awareness of suffering, religiosity, empathy, and helping behavior. It was found that female students had higher tendency toward of religiosity and caring and empathy toward those in sufferings. Medical students, overall, demonstrated less degree of religiosity and tend to be harsh and critical toward those who suffered. It was found that dimensions of awareness of suffering, after controlling for age and religiosity, are valid predictors of students' various domains of empathy and helping behaviors. The implications for medical education and future studies were discussed.