{"title":"Mental Health Literacy: A Review of What It Is and Why It Matters","authors":"A. Furnham, V. Swami","doi":"10.1037/ipp0000094","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"An increasing number of scholarly works have attempted to understand the reasons for poor rates of help-seeking for symptoms of mental health disorders all around the world. One particular body of work has focused on “mental health literacy” (MHL), defined as knowledge about mental health disorders that is associated with their recognition, management, and prevention. In this article, we report a nonsystematic review of studies on MHL, to give nonexpert academics, policymakers, and practitioners an understanding of the field. We find that studies consistently show that the general public have relatively poor recognition of the symptoms of mental health disorders and appear to emphasize self-help over traditional medical treatments. In addition, we find that there are age, gender, educational, urban−rural, and cross-cultural differences in MHL, which may differentially affect rates of help-seeking in different contexts. Implications and future directions for research are considered in conclusion.","PeriodicalId":37636,"journal":{"name":"International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2018-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"100","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/ipp0000094","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Psychology","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 100
Abstract
An increasing number of scholarly works have attempted to understand the reasons for poor rates of help-seeking for symptoms of mental health disorders all around the world. One particular body of work has focused on “mental health literacy” (MHL), defined as knowledge about mental health disorders that is associated with their recognition, management, and prevention. In this article, we report a nonsystematic review of studies on MHL, to give nonexpert academics, policymakers, and practitioners an understanding of the field. We find that studies consistently show that the general public have relatively poor recognition of the symptoms of mental health disorders and appear to emphasize self-help over traditional medical treatments. In addition, we find that there are age, gender, educational, urban−rural, and cross-cultural differences in MHL, which may differentially affect rates of help-seeking in different contexts. Implications and future directions for research are considered in conclusion.
期刊介绍:
International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation® is committed to publishing research that examines human behavior and experiences around the globe from a psychological perspective. It publishes intervention strategies that use psychological science to improve the lives of people around the world. The journal promotes the use of psychological science that is contextually informed, culturally inclusive, and dedicated to serving the public interest. The world''s problems are imbedded in economic, environmental, political, and social contexts. International Perspectives in Psychology incorporates empirical findings from education, medicine, political science, public health, psychology, sociology, gender and ethnic studies, and related disciplines. The journal addresses international and global issues, including: -inter-group relations -disaster response -societal and national development -environmental conservation -emigration and immigration -education -social and workplace environments -policy and decision making -leadership -health carepoverty and economic justice -the experiences and needs of disadvantaged groups