Mental health literacy among undergraduate students of a Saudi tertiary institution: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

The issue of mental health literacy has been widely studied in developed countries, with few studies conducted in Arab countries. In this study we aimed to investigate mental health literacy and attitudes towards psychiatric patients among students of Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A crosssectional study was conducted among undergraduate students using a validated Arabicversion questionnaire. A total of 557 students were recruited from different Jazan university colleges. The majority of students (90.3%) have intermediate mental health literacy. Regarding the etiology of mental illness, students agreed that genetic inheritance (45.8%), poor quality of life (65%) and social relationship weakness (73.1%) are the main causes of mental illness. The majority thought that mentally ill people are not capable of true friendships (52.5%) and that anyone can suffer from a mental illness (49.4%). Students’ attitudes towards psychiatric patients were mixed, with 68.7% reporting that they could maintain a friendship with a mentally ill person and that people with mental illness should have the same rights as anyone else (82.5%). Mental health literacy among university students was intermediate. There is an urgent need for health educational programs to change the attitudes of students regarding this important health issue.

Parental Support, Beliefs about Mental Illness, and Mental Help-Seeking among Young Adults in Saudi Arabia

“…Thus, the attitude of the participants could be considered mixed according to each item analysis in the BMI tool. The study results are consistent with a study that was conducted with a similarly aged population in Saudi Arabia [ 14 ]. Among 575 undergraduate students, it was found that they reported a mixed attitude toward people with mental illness, with 32% reporting that they could not maintain a friendship with a person who has a mental illness and 82.5% reporting that people deserve the same rights as anyone else [ 14 ].…”

“…The study results are consistent with a study that was conducted with a similarly aged population in Saudi Arabia [ 14 ]. Among 575 undergraduate students, it was found that they reported a mixed attitude toward people with mental illness, with 32% reporting that they could not maintain a friendship with a person who has a mental illness and 82.5% reporting that people deserve the same rights as anyone else [ 14 ]. Moreover, 66.5% of 650 Saudi adults aged > 18 years old reported negative attitudes toward people with mental illness concerning treatment, work, marriage, and recovery, and toward getting professional help [ 1 ].…”

“…A possible explanation for our study’s result of a moderate negative attitude toward mental illness can be explained by the low mental health literacy among young adults in Saudi Arabia. A study on mental health literacy among Saudi youth uncovered that 575 Saudi young adults showed intermediate mental health literacy levels, viewing mental illness as God’s punishment, the evil eye, magic, or demonic possession [ 14 ]. A similar finding was noted in a qualitative study done in Saudi Arabia that found that mental illnesses among Muslims were perceived as possession by supernatural forces or punishment from God [ 27 ].…”

“…The participants in the current study reported a highly positive attitude toward mental help-seeking. However, conflicting evidence was found in the literature [ 1 , 14 , 28 ]. Researchers found that 45% of 575 Saudi young adults believed that religious healers could treat people with mental illness [ 14 ].…”

“…Abolfotouh et al found that 66.5% of people reported negative attitudes toward people with mental illness, as discussed above [ 1 ]. Another study conducted with 557 undergraduate college students showed that half of the students (52.5%) held negative attitudes towards persons with mental illness, believing them incapable of friendships [ 14 ]. A further study reported that one-third of 3464 Saudi participants had a hesitant attitude toward mental illness and persons with mental illness [ 15 ].…”