Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie St, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia.
Department of Arts and Science, Bermuda College 21 Stonington Avenue, Paget PG 04, Bermuda.
Health Promot Int. 2024 Oct 1;39(5). doi: 10.1093/heapro/daae131.
Mental health literacy (MHL) is an important part of the help-seeking process, yet there is a lack of knowledge about the MHL of adolescents in the Caribbean. This region is important to study as it is underrepresented in mental health research globally. The aim of this study is to explore the ability of adolescents in Bermuda to recognize depression and social phobia (social anxiety) and their beliefs about the sources of help for a peer with these mental health problems. This cross-sectional study surveyed middle and high school students aged 10-19 years in Bermuda. Online surveys conducted between November 2022 and June 2023 gathered demographic data including age, gender and race, and assessed the ability to recognize depression and social anxiety from descriptions provided in randomly assigned vignettes, and beliefs about sources of help. Across 15 middle and high schools, 2423 adolescents (out of 3593 eligible participants) completed all demographic and MHL survey questions (1139 males, 1272 females). Recognition rates for depression and social anxiety were 60% and 53%, respectively. Compared to females, males endorsed a greater variety of help sources. Reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety reduced the likelihood of endorsing multiple sources of help. MHL of adolescents in Bermuda is sub-optimal, particularly for social anxiety. Mental health promotion programs may be useful in improving recognition rates.
心理健康素养（MHL）是寻求帮助过程中的一个重要组成部分，但加勒比地区青少年的 MHL 知识却很匮乏。该地区在全球心理健康研究中代表性不足，因此研究该地区很重要。本研究旨在探讨百慕大青少年识别抑郁和社交恐惧症（社交焦虑症）的能力，以及他们对有这些心理健康问题的同龄人寻求帮助的来源的看法。这项横断面研究调查了百慕大的 10-19 岁的中学生和高中生。2022 年 11 月至 2023 年 6 月期间进行的在线调查收集了包括年龄、性别和种族在内的人口统计学数据，并评估了从随机分配的情景描述中识别抑郁和社交焦虑的能力，以及对求助来源的看法。在 15 所中学和高中中，共有 2423 名青少年（3593 名符合条件的参与者中）完成了所有人口统计学和 MHL 调查问题（1139 名男性，1272 名女性）。对抑郁和社交焦虑的识别率分别为 60%和 53%。与女性相比，男性认可的帮助来源更多样化。报告抑郁或焦虑症状会降低认可多种帮助来源的可能性。百慕大青少年的 MHL 不理想，尤其是对社交焦虑症。心理健康促进计划可能有助于提高识别率。
