The use of mass media in mental health.

This paper summarizes the theoretical aspects and the experimental studies on the efficacy of mass media in mental health information campaigns. In theory, most authors agree to give mental health information to the lay public but they caution against the overestimation of the power of mass media. Regarding research on the use of mass media in mental health very few experimental studies have been published and they refer mainly to primary prevention with children. The authors discuss reasons which may explain the mental health professionals' lack of interest in this area of research, suggest new approaches for the elaboration of educational programs for the population and emphasize the importance of secondary and tertiary prevention.