Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
PLoS One. 2022 Jul 21;17(7):e0270988. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270988. eCollection 2022.
The last few decades have seen an increased interest in 'Mental Health Literacy (MHL)' which addresses knowledge and beliefs relating to mental health problems and is likely to hinder treatment-seeking behaviors. Although MHL research to date has explored various mental disorders, far too little attention has been paid to Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Problematic Smartphone use (PSU). The objective of this study is to develop an MHL questionnaire for IGD and PSU by adopting the MHL approach in the previous literature and examine MHL of IGD and PSU in Korean teenagers by focusing on their ability to recognize addictions, and perceptions and help-seeking attitudes towards a person with addictions. The current study also aimed to compare Korean teenagers' MHL depending on low- and high-risk of IGD and PSU. A total of 169 teenagers aged 10 and 16 years were recruited from schools and children's centers in Seoul and completed the newly developed MHL questionnaire and screening questionnaires for IGD and PSU. The MHL questionnaire for IGD and PSU was designed as a vignette-based questionnaire that depicted behavioral characteristics of a severe problem with Internet and smartphone usage. Korean teenagers had a poor ability to recognize IGD and PSU and were more prone to seek parental help than professional help. The current study also showed that teenagers had better recognition of IGD than PSU and perceived that a person with IGD has a more difficult life than a person with PSU. Furthermore, a low-risk or high-risk group of IGD or PSU showed minimal differences in MHL. The current study provided empirical evidence to support a need to develop educational programs to improve Korean teenagers' MHL for both IGD and PSU.
过去几十年，人们对“心理健康素养（MHL）”的兴趣日益增加，这涉及到与心理健康问题相关的知识和信念，并且可能会阻碍寻求治疗的行为。尽管迄今为止的 MHL 研究已经探索了各种精神障碍，但对网络成瘾障碍（IGD）和智能手机问题使用（PSU）的关注太少。本研究的目的是通过采用以前文献中的 MHL 方法，为 IGD 和 PSU 开发 MHL 问卷，并通过关注青少年识别成瘾的能力、对成瘾者的看法以及寻求帮助的态度，来检验青少年对 IGD 和 PSU 的 MHL。本研究还旨在比较韩国青少年的 MHL 与 IGD 和 PSU 的低风险和高风险。从首尔的学校和儿童中心招募了 169 名 10 至 16 岁的青少年，他们完成了新开发的 MHL 问卷和 IGD 和 PSU 的筛查问卷。IGD 和 PSU 的 MHL 问卷是基于描述互联网和智能手机使用严重问题的行为特征的情景式问卷设计的。韩国青少年识别 IGD 和 PSU 的能力较差，更倾向于寻求父母的帮助，而不是专业帮助。本研究还表明，青少年对 IGD 的识别能力强于 PSU，并且认为患有 IGD 的人比患有 PSU 的人生活更困难。此外，IGD 或 PSU 的低风险或高风险组在 MHL 方面差异不大。本研究提供了实证证据，支持需要制定教育计划，以提高韩国青少年对 IGD 和 PSU 的 MHL。
