Abstract: Objective To investigate the current status of emotional awareness,subliminal depression,and sense of agency among medical students,and to analyze the relationship between emotional awareness and subliminal depression among medical students,as well as the mediating role of sense of agency. Methods A cluster sampling method was used to select 1 320 medical students from a medical university in Gui'an New District,Guiyang City in March 2024. A questionnaire survey was conducted using the subthreshold depression scale（STDS）,trait meta mood scale（TMMS）,and sense of agency Scale（SoAS）,and the data were analyzed. Results The number of medical students with subthreshold depression was 419,with a detection rate of 31.742% and an average score of （66.361±8.055）points. The average score of the SoAS was （42.110±5.993）points. The average score of the TMMS was （80.502±17.858）points. The subthreshold depression level in boys was significantly lower than that in girls（t=-2.893,P<0.05）. The subthreshold depression level of only children was significantly lower than that of non-only children（t=-0.612,P<0.05）. The levels of emotional awareness and sense of agency among medical students from rural areas were significantly lower than those in towns and cities（F=16.473,11.704,both P<0.01）,the subthreshold depression score was significantly higher in rural areas than in urban areas（F=12.756,P<0.01）. The higher the cost of living,the higher the level of emotional awareness and sense of agency（F=7.149,6.064,both P<0.01）,and the lower the level of subthreshold depression（F=4.067,P<0.05）. Emotional awareness（r=-0.603, P<0.01）,sense of agency（r=-0.541,P<0.01）,place of origin（r=-0.138,P<0.01）,and living expenses（r=-0.088,P<0.01） were significantly negatively correlated with subthreshold depression,while gender was significantly positively correlated with subthreshold depression（r=0.082,P<0.01）. Emotional awareness（r=0.582,P<0.01）,place of origin（r=0.129,P<0.01） and living expenses（r=0.116,P<0.01） were significantly positively correlated with sense of agency. The place of origin（r=0.156,P<0.01） and living expenses（r=0.119,P<0.01） were significantly positively correlated with emotional awareness. Conclusion After controlling for demographic variables,emotional awareness significantly negatively predicts the subthreshold depression level of medical students. The sense of agency partially mediates the relationship between emotional awareness and subliminal depression.

Key words: Medical students, Mediation, Subthreshold depression, Emotional awareness, Sense of agency