青少年於新冠肺炎疫情期間維持社交距離之動機與行為的相關探討：以同理心為中介變項

Adolescents' motivation and behavior to maintain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating role of empathy

目標：本研究旨在探討於新冠肺炎疫情期間，台灣青少年維持社交距離的情況，與青少年對於維持社交距離的動機和行為的關聯、及其是否受到同理心之中介影響。方法：本研究使用問卷調查法，研究參與者為來自台灣北、南及東部的889名國、高中學生（男生37%，高中生77%）。以結構方程模型之統計方法檢驗同理心在動機與維持社交距離間的中介途徑。結果：在疫情緊張的三級警戒期間，大約八成以上的青少年會在生活中落實維持社交距離行為；青少年的內在性動機會透過同理心進而影響維持社交距離行為（β = .04, p ＜ .01, 95 % CI = [.034, .169]），但外在性動機與維持社交距離間並沒有顯著關聯（β = -.01, p = .42, 95 % CI = [-.051, .016]）。結論：青少年對於維持社交距離的內在性動機與同理心，都明顯與其表現出維持社交距離的行為有關。建議學校教師及衛教相關人員在進行防疫之公共衛生宣導時，若能關照到青少年的內在性動機及引發其同理心，將有助於提升青少年之防疫行為的展現與落實。

Objectives: This study investigated the social distancing behavior of Taiwanese adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examined the influence of adolescents’ motivation and empathy on their social distancing behavior and the mediating role of empathy. Methods: The participants were 889 adolescent students recruited from four public schools in northern, southern, and eastern Taiwan (boys: 37%, senior-high-school students: 77%). The study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis that empathy mediates the relationship between motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and social distancing. Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 80% of Taiwanese adolescents followed the guidelines of maintaining social distancing in their daily lives. A significant mediating path between adolescents' intrinsic motivation and their social distancing behavior through their empathy was observed (β = .04, p ＜ .01, 95% confidence interval CI = [ .034, .169]). However, no significant association between adolescents' extrinsic motivation and their social distancing behavior was observed (β = -.01, p = .42, 95% CI = [-.051, .016]). Conclusions: Adolescents who exhibit intrinsic motivation and high empathy are more likely to engage in social distancing. These findings suggest that prevention strategies relying on students' intrinsic motivation and empathetic concern can help to increase their practice of social distancing during the pandemic.