Abstract
Mental health literacy (MHL) is an established multifaceted concept that comprises mental health knowledge, help-seeking, and stigma. Adequate MHL (i.e., the ability to correctly recognize mental health disorders alongside having the intention to seek help) is able improve mental health outcomes among individuals. This study aims to examine the determinants of MHL among young Malaysian adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1400 adolescents between 13 and 14 years old from nine national secondary schools in Selangor state, Malaysia. Sociodemographic determinants assessed included gender, age, ethnicity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, history of being bullied, feeling lonely, parental marital status, and parental income which were assessed using the Global School Based Student Health Survey. MHL was assessed using the Mental Health Literacy and Stigma questionnaire. Several factors were significantly associated with adequate levels of MHL following multivariate analysis, such as being female (AOR = 1.68; 95% CI 1.12, 2.52), older adolescents (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.07, 2.30), not smoking (AOR = 1.99; 95% CI 1.20, 4.26), not consuming alcohol (AOR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.18, 2.41), and not feeling lonely (AOR = 1.25; 95% CI 1.06, 1.85). Addressing these determinants could be key in assisting the development of policies and programs to prevent mental health disorders among adolescents, which are currently on the rise.
Highlights
The aim of this study is to examine the determinants of the various components of Mental health literacy (MHL) among young adolescents in Malaysia
This study examined the sociodemographic determinants of MHL among young Malaysian adolescents
This study showed that the various components of MHL and the overall adequacy of MHL levels were associated with gender, age, smoking, alcohol consumption, and loneliness
Summary
1996, which emphasizes improving mental health knowledge, help-seeking, and addressing mental health stigma, with the aim of improving mental health [1]. The mental health knowledge component of MHL focuses on improving the ability of individuals to correctly recognize mental health disorders early on. This component centers around the knowledge regarding mental health first aid, interventions, and appropriate preventive measures that could essentially improve mental health outcomes [2]. The stigma component of MHL covers a wide spectrum of stigma related to mental health disorders (i.e., stigmatizing attitudes, perceived/personal stigma, and social distancing) with the aim of destigmatizing mental health disorders [3,4]. As the components of MHL are often interrelated, they need to be assessed in a holistic manner to be able to subsequently improve the overall levels of MHL [4–6]
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