An observational study to assess mental health literacy among undergraduate students from Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Background and Aim: Misbeliefs regarding mental illness is a cause of concern and needs better understanding. There is a dearth in the literature highlighting the lack of knowledge regarding the basis of mental illness among educated individuals. Therefore, this study was designed to gauge the knowledge, beliefs, and attitude regarding the mental illness of final year undergraduate students of various courses at Tamil Nadu. The aim is to study mental health literacy and its determinants among undergraduate college students. Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire-based observational study conducted on 527 final year undergraduate students from dental, nursing, engineering, arts, and science courses. A module containing ten close-ended questions was used to assess people's knowledge regarding the basis of mental illness. A vignette-based “Mental health literacy scale” was used, which described a case of depression and was used to evaluate the participant's knowledge, beliefs, and attitude regarding mental illness. The analysis was performed using Chi-square test and binary logistic regression model. Results: The association between opinion regarding the role of antidepressant and level of contact was statistically significant (P