Abstract
Background: Teachers' Mental health literacy (MHL) is one of the important factors that influence students' mental health literacy and even their mental health status. A valid, comprehensive measure is needed to adequately identify MHL levels in the Chinese teachers. Thus, this study aimed to validate a Chinese version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) among Chinese teachers.Methods: A total of 367 Chinese primary and secondary school teachers in Henan province were enrolled to complete the Chinese version of MHLS and several validation measures.Results: A parallel analysis supported a four-factor structure model of the Chinese version, but because of the low communalities and mean factor loadings, the univariate structure of the original scale was selected. Additionally, the criterion construct validity of the Chinese version was supported by significant correlations with self-efficacy in coping with mental health problems, mental health status, the stigma associated with receiving mental health treatment, and socially distancing from patients with mental illness. The Cronbach's α of the Chinese version was acceptable. Females, younger teachers, teachers with higher educational level, and full-time mental health teachers showed higher levels of MHL.Conclusion: The Chinese version of MHLS is a valid and reliable tool to assess the level of Chinese teachers' MHL.
Highlights
Mental health literacy (MHL), a multidimensional conception, was first defined by Jorm [1] as the “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management, or prevention.” He proposed seven attributes of MHL, “the ability to recognize specific disorders; knowing how to seek mental health information; knowledge of risk factors and causes, self-treatments, and professional help available; and attitudes that promote recognition and appropriate help-seeking” [1]
This study aimed to translate the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) into Chinese and examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the MHLS (MHLS-C) among Chinese teachers living in the Henan province
The more specific aims were as follows: (a) to explore the structural validity of the MHLS-C; (b) to determine the criterion validity of the MHLSC by using the stigma associated with receiving mental health treatment, socially distancing oneself from someone with mental illness, self-efficacy in coping with mental health problems, and mental health related scales; (c) to examine the reliability of the MHLS-C; and (d) to explore the differences in the MHL of Chinese teachers between socio-demographic variables
Summary
Mental health literacy (MHL), a multidimensional conception, was first defined by Jorm [1] as the “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management, or prevention.” He proposed seven attributes of MHL, “the ability to recognize specific disorders; knowing how to seek mental health information; knowledge of risk factors and causes, self-treatments, and professional help available; and attitudes that promote recognition and appropriate help-seeking” [1]. Mental health literacy (MHL), a multidimensional conception, was first defined by Jorm [1] as the “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management, or prevention.”. He proposed seven attributes of MHL, “the ability to recognize specific disorders; knowing how to seek mental health information; knowledge of risk factors and causes, self-treatments, and professional help available; and attitudes that promote recognition and appropriate help-seeking” [1]. A valid, comprehensive measure is needed to adequately identify MHL levels in the Chinese teachers. This study aimed to validate a Chinese version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) among Chinese teachers
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