Abstract
Background“Mental health for everyone” is a school program for mental health literacy and prevention aimed at secondary schools (13–15 yrs). The main aim was to investigate whether mental health literacy, could be improved by a 3-days universal education programme by: a) improving naming of symptom profiles of mental disorder, b) reducing prejudiced beliefs, and c) improving knowledge about where to seek help for mental health problems. A secondary aim was to investigate whether adolescent sex and age influenced the above mentioned variables. A third aim was to investigate whether prejudiced beliefs influenced knowledge about available help.MethodThis non-randomized cluster controlled trial included 1070 adolescents (53.9% boys, M age14 yrs) from three schools in a Norwegian town. One school (n = 520) received the intervention, and two schools (n = 550) formed the control group. Pre-test and follow-up were three months apart. Linear mixed models and generalized estimating equations models were employed for analysis.ResultsMental health literacy improved contingent on the intervention, and there was a shift towards suggesting primary health care as a place to seek help. Those with more prejudiced beleifs did not suggest places to seek help for mental health problems. Generally, girls and older adolescents recognized symptom profiles better and had lower levels of prejudiced beliefs.ConclusionsA low cost general school program may improve mental health literacy in adolescents. Gender specific programs and attention to the age and maturity of the students should be considered when mental health literacy programmes are designed and tried out. Prejudice should be addressed before imparting information about mental health issues.
Highlights
Public knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders, termed mental health literacy, may be crucial to the early recognition of mental health problems, and to the seeking and acceptance of mental health care [1,2]
Prejudice should be addressed before imparting information about mental health issues
The main finding in this study was that mental health literacy in terms of symptom profile identification, prejudiced beliefs, and knowledge about where to seek help, changed after a three-day universal school intervention aimed at secondary school students
Summary
Public knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders, termed mental health literacy, may be crucial to the early recognition of mental health problems, and to the seeking and acceptance of mental health care [1,2]. Mental health literacy Jorm [1,2] defines mental health literacy as: a) recognition of mental disorder, knowledge and belief about b) risk factors and causes, as c) self-help interventions and d) professional help available, as e) attitudes which facilitates recognition and appropriate help seeking, and as f ) knowledge about how to seek mental health information. According to this definition, there should be a direct connection between knowledge about and attitudes towards mental health problems, and the ability to both recognise symptoms of mental disorder, and to seek help appropriately.
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