Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia.
European Federation of Psychology Teachers' Associations (EFPTA), Brussels, Belgium.
Front Public Health. 2024 Jan 30;12:1333216. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1333216. eCollection 2024.
Secondary school students are at risk for mental health problems, especially nowadays, when we face an increase in mental health issues among adolescents and the general population. Mental health literacy (MHL) and help-seeking behavior are considered protective factors; however, we lack data on the levels of MHL in secondary school students and how MHL is developed in schools. This correlational and comparative study was designed to investigate mental health literacy (MHL) and help-seeking behavior among secondary school students in Slovakia. A convenient sample of 250 Slovak secondary school students responded to an anonymous online survey consisting of two scales (Mental Health Literacy Scale and Self-stigma of Seeking Help). Significant differences in mental health literacy ( = 5.56; ≤ 0.0) and stigma of seeking help ( = -4.33; ≤ 0.01) were observed between students in general and vocational secondary school. Students in general secondary school who attended optional psychology courses had the highest scores in mental health literacy ( = 987; = 0.003). These preliminary findings showed that secondary students with a higher level of mental health literacy reported a lower level of self-stigmatization related to seeking professional mental health help ( = -0.339; ≤ 0.01). Implementing mental health education into secondary school curricula can potentially help increase mental health literacy and decrease self-stigma of seeking help.
中学生面临心理健康问题的风险,尤其是在当今社会,青少年和普通人群的心理健康问题日益增加。心理健康素养(MHL)和寻求帮助的行为被认为是保护因素;然而,我们缺乏关于中学生心理健康素养水平以及学校如何培养心理健康素养的相关数据。本研究旨在调查斯洛伐克中学生的心理健康素养(MHL)和寻求帮助的行为。采用方便抽样法,共有 250 名斯洛伐克中学生参与了一项匿名在线调查,该调查包括两个量表(心理健康素养量表和寻求帮助的自我污名量表)。研究结果表明,普通和职业中学学生之间的心理健康素养( = 5.56; ≤ 0.0)和寻求帮助的污名( = -4.33; ≤ 0.01)存在显著差异。参加选修心理学课程的普通中学学生在心理健康素养方面得分最高( = 987; = 0.003)。这些初步发现表明,心理健康素养水平较高的中学生报告的与寻求专业心理健康帮助相关的自我污名化程度较低( = -0.339; ≤ 0.01)。将心理健康教育纳入中学课程可能有助于提高心理健康素养并减少寻求帮助的自我污名化。