Breaking Barriers: Unraveling the Connection between Mental Health Literacy, Attitudes towards Mental Illness, and Self-Stigma of Psychological Help-Seeking in University Students
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Mental Health and Psychological Help-Seeking in Emerging Adulthood
1.2. Challenges and Obstacles in Seeking Psychological Help
1.3. MHL, Attitudes towards Mental Illness, and Psychological Help-Seeking in Greece
1.4. The Current Study
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Sociodemographic Data and History of Previous Help-Seeking
2.2.2. Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS)
2.2.3. Attitudes towards Severe Mental Illness (ASMI)
2.2.4. Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (SSOSH)
2.3. Procedure
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Results and Intercorrelations between the Study Variables
3.2. Association of Participants’ Characteristics with MHL, Attitudes towards Mental Illness, and Self-Stigma of Help-Seeking
3.3. Multivariate Associations of MHL with Attitudes towards Mental Illness and Self-Stigma of Help-Seeking
4. Discussion
4.1. Strengths and Limitations
4.2. Implications for Practice
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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N | % | |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Male | 119 | 24.5 |
Female | 366 | 75.5 |
Nationality | ||
Greek | 475 | 97.9 |
Other | 10 | 2.1 |
Department of study | ||
Psychology | 322 | 66.4 |
Sociology | 102 | 21.0 |
Political Science | 39 | 8.0 |
Economics | 22 | 4.5 |
Previous help-seeking | ||
Yes | 172 | 35.5 |
No | 313 | 64.5 |
Type of difficulty (n = 172) | ||
Anxiety symptoms | 100 | 58.1 |
Depressive symptoms | 29 | 16.9 |
Other reasons (i.e., family issues, difficulties with studies, etc.) | 43 | 25.0 |
Mental health professional (n = 172) | ||
Psychologist | 159 | 93.0 |
Psychiatrist/other | 13 | 7.0 |
Type of therapy (n = 172) | ||
Psychotherapy | 159 | 93.0 |
Pharmacotherapy/combined therapy | 13 | 7.0 |
Mean | SD | |
Age (years) | 19.54 | 1.45 |
Current educational year | 2.10 | 1.17 |
Mean | SD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121.94 | 9.98 | 1 | |||||
| 34.22 | 6.31 | 0.368 *** | 1 | ||||
| 18.44 | 4.30 | 0.341 *** | 0.456 *** | 1 | |||
| 25.90 | 2.95 | 0.335 *** | 0.285 *** | 0.233 *** | 1 | ||
| 16.77 | 4.73 | 0.082 | 0.145 ** | 0.143 ** | 0.147 *** | 1 | |
| 21.91 | 5.04 | −0.369 *** | −0.157 ** | −0.144 ** | −0.186 ** | −0.045 | 1 |
MHLS | ASMI Stereotyping | ASMI Optimism | ASMI Coping | ASMI Understanding | SSOSH | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |
Gender | ||||||
Male | 118.39 (11.59) *** | 34.17 (6.24) | 18.47 (3.88) | 24.87 (3.77) *** | 15.76 (5.00) ** | 23.50 (5.00) *** |
Female | 123.09 (9.13) | 34.23 (6.34) | 18.43 (4.43) | 26.24 (2.54) | 17.10 (4.60) | 21.40 (4.94) |
Department of study | ||||||
Psychology | 123.25 (9.37) *** | 34.77 (6.24) ** | 18.42 (4.36) ** | 26.10 (2.91) ** | 16.94 (4.64) ** | 21.52 (4.94) ** |
Other social sciences | 119.34 (10.67) | 33.12 (6.32) | 18.47 (4.03) | 25.31 (3.21) | 16.44 (4.90) | 22.83 (5.19) |
Previous help-seeking | ||||||
Yes | 124.81 (9.17) *** | 35.14 (6.08) ** | 18.47 (4.08) | 26.14 (2.88) | 17.23 (4.17) | 21.26 (4.97) ** |
No | 120.36 (10.07) | 33.71 (6.38) | 18.42 (4.42) | 25.77 (2.98) | 16.51 (5.00) | 22.27 (5.04) |
Age | r = 0.138 ** | r = 0.120 ** | r = 0.086 | r = −0.071 | r = −0.101 * | r = −0.026 |
Academic year | r = 0.160 ** | r = 0.184 *** | r = 0.118 ** | r = −0.015 | r = −0.085 * | r = −0.026 |
MHLS ‡ | |||
---|---|---|---|
β Coefficient | 95% CI | p-Value | |
ASMI Stereotyping | 0.209 | (0.152, 0.265) | <0.001 |
ASMI Optimism | 0.162 | (0.123, 0.201) | <0.001 |
ASMI Coping | 0.098 | (0.070, 0.126) | <0.001 |
ASMI Understanding | −0.028 | (−0.018, 0.074) | 0.228 |
SSOSH | −0.173 | (−0.219, −0.128) | <0.001 |
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Koutra, K.; Pantelaiou, V.; Mavroeides, G. Breaking Barriers: Unraveling the Connection between Mental Health Literacy, Attitudes towards Mental Illness, and Self-Stigma of Psychological Help-Seeking in University Students. Psychol. Int. 2024, 6, 590-602. https://doi.org/10.3390/psycholint6020035
Koutra K, Pantelaiou V, Mavroeides G. Breaking Barriers: Unraveling the Connection between Mental Health Literacy, Attitudes towards Mental Illness, and Self-Stigma of Psychological Help-Seeking in University Students. Psychology International. 2024; 6(2):590-602. https://doi.org/10.3390/psycholint6020035
Chicago/Turabian StyleKoutra, Katerina, Varvara Pantelaiou, and Georgios Mavroeides. 2024. "Breaking Barriers: Unraveling the Connection between Mental Health Literacy, Attitudes towards Mental Illness, and Self-Stigma of Psychological Help-Seeking in University Students" Psychology International 6, no. 2: 590-602. https://doi.org/10.3390/psycholint6020035