title: Social relationship and health among students with low social desirability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This survey aimed to probe the associations between altruism, social support and subjective health among incoming students with low level of social desirability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Totally, 5,634 incoming university students were assessed and 2,472 students with a low tendency toward social desirability were recruited for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated that altruism and perceived social support were correlated and both could predict subjective health simultaneously. Path analysis indicated that altruism may promote health directly and indirectly by social support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Developing curriculums to enhance altruism and social support could be an important issue for university students.
authors.affiliation: Office of Student Affairs, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu Hui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Chih-Ting
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: I Hui
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Zih Jie
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shih-Hsien
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Kao Chin
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chung Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Yen Kuang
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yi Ching
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000533:Altruism; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D012649:Self Concept; D012928:Social Desirability; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: World Health Organization Quality of Life brief version; altruism; social desirability; social support; university student