Is mental health literacy for depression associated with the intention toward preventive actions? A cross-sectional study among university students

Abstract

Objective: Mental Health Literacy (MHL) might play an important role in preventing depression. This study assessed the MHL level for depression of university students and its association with intentions toward preventive actions against depression. Participants: University students (n = 315) were surveyed online. Methods: MHL level and group differences were analyzed using t-tests and one-way ANOVA. To investigate the relation between MHL and the intention for preventive actions against depression, correlation and regression analyses were performed. Results: The mean MHL level of the participants was reasonably high (42.65 of 75 points). MHL levels differed significantly between different groups. MHL was slightly associated with intention for preventive actions (beta = 0.274, p < 0.001). The explained variance was low (7.5%). Conclusions: MHL levels of university students have potential for improvement, especially among males and non-health related students. Promotion of MHL could be one of the targets points in interventions aimed at depression prevention.

Keywords:

• Depression prevention
• intention
• mental health literacy
• preventive behavior
• university students

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to all the volunteers who invited students to participate.

Authors’ contributions

JLR, AO and CS made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the study, the data acquisition, analysis, interpretation of data, and the preparation of the manuscript. FS and PD made contributions to data interpretation and substantial contribution to the preparation of the manuscript. All authors proofread and accepted the final version of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.