Evaluation of mental health literacy in university students

Abstract

Mental health literacy (MHL) is defined as information about recognizing, managing, and preventing mental disorders. An increase in MHL in society will allow the behavior of individuals with mental illness to improve, decrease stigma, and allow these individuals to benefit from health services at an optimal level. In line with this information, we intended to investigate the mental health literacy levels of medical faculty students. The study included 179 students aged 18-25 years. The socio-demographic data form, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) were applied. Mean age of the participants was 23.09±3.09, and 66.4% (n=119) were women. The rate of participants who had applied to a psychiatric clinic in the past was 37.4% (n=67). When those with psychiatric admissions were compared with those without psychiatric admission in terms of MHL and DASS-21, the mean scores of recognizing mental disorders (p=0.021), attitude towards individuals (0.004), MHL total scale (0.006), anxiety (p=0.016) and stress (p=0.045) were significantly higher in those with psychiatric admissions. Of the participants, 15.0% (n=27) had a his-tory of psychiatric disease. Recognition of mental disorders (p=0.023), attitude towards individuals (0.01), MHL total scale (0.028), depression (p=0.008), anxiety (p=0.001) and stress (p=0.001) mean scores of those with a history of psychiatric illness were significantly higher. Our findings showed that those with psychiatric admissions and a history of psychiatric illness had higher scores for rec-ognizing mental disorders, attitudes toward individuals, and total scores. Increasing the number of individuals with MHL will be beneficial for recognizing mental disorders, seeking professional help, and receiving appropriate treatment. [Med-Science 2023; 12(2.000): 479-83]

Keywords

• mental health literacy
• health literacy
• university students