The State of Mental Health Literacy among High School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Student Research Committee, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.

2 Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Health, Social determinants of health research center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.

3 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, School of Health, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.

4 Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Health, Social determinants of health research center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objective: Mental disorders affect around 20% of children and teenagers worldwide, resulting in a decrease in academic success and progress, ultimately resulting in a decrease in their academic performance. This research aimed to determine the level of mental health literacy for high school students in eastern Iran in 2023.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 348 high school students in Zirkuh City, Iran, using a cluster sampling method. The data was gathered by a 29-item questionnaire known as the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS). Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis test were utilized for data analysis at a significant level of 0.05. 

Results: The study included 348 students with a µ (SD) age of 16.27 (0.89) years. Of these, 176 (50.6%) were female. Most students (53.2%) scored low in MHL with a µ (SD) score of 79.3 (9.2). The most common source of mental health knowledge was "Internet and friends" (65.5%). The mean score of "help-seeking attitudes" was significantly higher in students of natural sciences (P<0.03) and technical sciences (P<0.02) than those in humanities. There was a significant difference in the mean score of MHL, the ability to recognize disorders, and help-seeking attitudes based on the father's occupation. The mean scores for MHL and help-seeking attitudes were higher among self-employed fathers than those involved in farming and animal husbandry occupations (P<0.001). The study found that students whose fathers were teachers had a higher ability to recognize disorders compared to the other groups (P<0.001). 

Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, the level of MHL of the students participating in the study was not favourable. Therefore, it is necessary to develop educational interventions for students and their parents with their teachers' aim.

Keywords

Acknowledgements: The researcher and the accompanying research team would like to acknowledge and thank the Zirkuh Education Department, Birjand University of Medical Sciences and the Professors of the Health Faculty of Birjand University of Medical Sciences for their cooperation in the implementation of the research(Approved code :6255).


Availability of data and materials: The nameless datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.


Conflict of interest: The authors involved in the study do not have any conflicts of interest.


Consent for publication: Not applicable


Ethical approval and consent to participate: The ethics committee of Birjand University of Medical Sciences, with code IR.BUMS.REC.1402.194 approved this study. In addition, the study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Furthermore, the questionnaires were completed anonymously and the participants were assured of the confidentiality of the information.
Furthermore, the study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All respondents and the school principal of each school gave consent for participation after reviewing the study protocol and questionnaire items.


Funding: This research was supported by Birjand University of Medical Sciences with grant number of 6255.


Author contributions: Azam Majdi, Iman Mousaei: Data curation, Formal analysis, writing original draft. Gholam Reza Sharifzadeh: Methodology,Formal analysis, Writing: review & editing. Ensiyeh Norozi: Conceptualization, review & editing the English draft,review & editing, Formal analysis. Abbas Javadi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing: review & editing.

 

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Journal of Health Literacy
Volume 9, Issue 3 - Serial Number 35
September 2024
Pages 45-56

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