ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1626707
This article is part of the Research TopicEnsuring Public Health: The Active Role of Healthcare ProfessionalsView all 32 articles
Moral judgment competence of midwifery students and its influencing factors: A cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
- 2Joint Research Centre for Primary Health Care & School of Nursing, China, Hong Kong, SAR China
- 3Hunan College of Foreign Studies, Chang Sha, China
- 4Xiang Zhong Normal College for Preschool Education, Shaoyang, China
- 5The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Chang Sha, China
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Background: Midwives frequently encounter complex ethical dilemmas in clinical practice, underscoring the need for strong moral judgment competence. However, limited research has investigated this competence among midwifery students in China.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the level of moral judgment competence among Chinese midwifery students, examine its relationship with empathy, and identify influencing factors.: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 213 midwifery students from three vocational colleges in Hunan Province, China. Data were collected using the Chinese versions of the Moral Judgment Test (MJT) and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professionals (JSE-HP), along with demographic information. Statistical analyses included Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression.The mean MJT score was 11.81 ± 7.48, indicating a moderate level of moral judgment competence. Empathy also reached a moderate level (87.17 ± 12.90), and a significant positive correlation was found between empathy and moral judgment competence (r = 0.502, p < .01). Multiple linear regression identified five significant predictors: year of study, only-child status, religious affiliation, prior experience in studying nursing ethics, and empathy level, collectively explaining 37.5% of the variance in moral judgment competence (F = 22.219, p < .05, adjusted R² = 0.375).This study provides the first empirical evidence on moral judgment competence among Chinese midwifery students. The findings highlight the importance of integrating empathy cultivation and ethics education into midwifery training. Targeted, individualized teaching strategies may be effective in enhancing students' ethical reasoning and preparing them for future clinical challenges.
Keywords: Midwifery students, Moral judgment competence, Empathy, Ethic, Education
Received: 11 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 CHEN, Hu, Fan and Ding. 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: Xi CHEN, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
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