Attitudes of Teachers towards Individuals with Mental Health Problems and Affecting Factors

Abstract

Aim: Teachers are in a good position to provide first aid to students with mental health problems. The aim of the study is to determine the attitudes of teachers towards individuals with mental health problems and the factors affecting them. Materials-methods: The research, which is a cross-sectional descriptive study, was conducted with teachers reached online via social media. Sociodemographic information form, Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale and Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Illness Scale were applied to the teachers via Google forms. The data were evaluated with the SPSS 20 statistical program. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, 477 teachers were participated. Psychological Counseling and Guidance (PCG) teachers' “mental health ideology” (19.24±3.99) and “goodwill” scores (18.07±3.16) were found to be lower than the scores of preschool and classroom teachers (p=0.001; p=0.014). The goodwill score of male teachers (20.27±3.66) was found to be higher than which of female teachers (19.38±3.19). The risk of anxiety was found in 17.00% of the teachers participating in the study and the risk of depression was in 27.62%. The goodwill approach of teachers with anxiety risk to those with mental problems was lower than those without anxiety risk (p=0.003). Conclusion: It is noteworthy that the attitudes of teachers towards individuals with mental health problems are at a moderate level, and that the attitudes of teachers who are especially young, women and who frequently encounter these patients are negatively affected.