Korean J Med Ethics.  2015 Dec;18(4):478-490.

Biomedical Ethics Awareness, Moral Self-Concepts, and Self-Esteem among College Students Majoring in Healthcare

• KIM M
• KIM KS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of biomedical ethics awareness, moral self-concepts, and self-esteem among college students majoring in healthcare. This study employed a crosssectional survey design. The participants were 268 third- or fourth-year university students majoring in healthcare in South Korea. The statistical analyses include descriptive statistics of the respondents’ general characteristics, and the data were analyzed with a t-test and ANOVA using the SPSS WIN 18.0 program. The average score for biomedical ethics awareness was 2.01±0.20 (using a 4-point Likert scale); the scores for self-esteem and moral self-concepts were 2.04±0.45, and 2.17±0.31 respectively. Biomedical ethics awareness showed a positive correlation with moral self-concepts (r=.157, p=.011); and selfesteem showed a positive correlation with moral self-concepts (r=.596, p<.001). Reproductive ethics (r=.124, p=.043) and the right to life (r=.147, p=.016), sub-domains of biomedical ethics awareness, also showed positive correlations with moral self-concepts. The results of this study suggest that biomedical ethics education should focus primarily on reproductive ethics, the right to life, and the ethics of death.

Keyword

biomedical ethics awareness; self-esteem; moral self-concepts