Mental Health Literacy and Mental Health Information-Seeking Behavior in Iranian University Students

Abstract

Background:Inadequate Mental health literacy (MHL) is a problem worldwide. Research is limited in developing countries and about positive MHL. This study measured the disease-oriented MHL and positive MHL and investigated their association. In addition, this study explored the mental health information-seeking behavior among undergraduate students in Iran.MethodsThis study recruited undergraduate students of Tehran public universities through multistage stratified random sampling to undertake an analytical cross-sectional study. MHL was measured using Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) and Mental Health Positive Knowledge (MHPK). Participants' most used mental health information sources and their trust in them were also inspected.ResultsA total of 543 students participated in this study. On average, the participants achieved about 65% of the total possible MHLS score, and 71% of participants showed sufficient MHPK score. The “internet” was the most used source for receiving and searching for mental health information. The most trusted source was “health care staff”. This study detected no correlation between disease-oriented MHL and positive MHL.ConclusionsMental health literacy of Iranian students still seems to be insufficient. As disease-oriented MHL and positive MHL were not correlated, specific educational interventions for each domain are needed. Although the internet is the main source of mental health knowledge, the trust of student in it is low. This issue should be taken into consideration in designing online educational interventions.

Validation of the Mental Health Literacy Scale in French University Students

“…Concerning descriptive statistics, the mean MHL score calculated in the sample was 90.52/119. This score was higher than in previous studies on students’ MHL [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ] and even in the study of O’Connor and Casey [ 5 ] where the mean score was 127.38/160. Variables such as countries where the study was conducted, cultures, educational training, and language might have influenced the results.…”

“…These studies used the complete 35-item MHLS as an already-validated tool in the English language. The mean MHLS score in Persian students was 69.59/106, using a 23-items MHLS version [ 23 ]. In Saudi Arabia, students scored 112.53/160 using the full MHLS [ 24 ].…”

Conceptual framework of mental health literacy: Results from a scoping review and a Delphi survey

“…Part of this knowledge also involves understanding good MH, that is, promoting MH, which is known as positive mental health (PMH) literacy (Mahmoodi et al., 2022). Individuals would be capable of attaining and maintaining PMH (Kutcher, Wei, & Coniglio, 2016; Kutcher, Wei, Gilberds, et al., 2016) and maintaining a positive attitude towards MH (Lee et al., 2019).…”

“…Finally, there is the socio‐economic factor (Mahmoodi et al., 2022; Tambling et al., 2021; Yu et al., 2015). Lower income is correlated with lower levels of MHL (Mahmoodi et al., 2022).…”

Stigma as a barrier to suicide prevention efforts in Iran

“…According to some Iranian research, inadequate mental health literacy exists not only in the general population but also among students and the educated. Some scholars may refer to psychiatric disorders as spiritual problems that should be dealt with spiritually ( 16 , 17 ). This is despite the fact that there is an inverse relationship between mental health literacy and stigma, in such a way that the lower the mental health literacy in a society, the greater the stigma in that society ( 16 ).…”