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Knowledge, attitude and behaviours toward mental illness and help‐seeking in a large nonclinical Tunisian student sample
Author(s) -
FekihRomdhane Feten,
Chebbi Ons,
Sassi Hadhami,
Cheour Majda
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
early intervention in psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.087
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-7893
pISSN - 1751-7885
DOI - 10.1111/eip.13080
Subject(s) - mental illness , mental health , help seeking , psychology , clinical psychology , perception , stigma (botany) , psychiatry , depression (economics) , scale (ratio) , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , economics , macroeconomics
Background Mental disorders are widespread among students. However, mental health help‐seeking remains low. Several reviews and meta‐analyses have shown that the main barrier to seeking help from mental health professionals is stigma. This paper aimed to assess stigma in a sample of students, and its association with help‐seeking intentions and comfort with disclosing a mental illness. Method The ‘Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill’, the ‘Mental Health Knowledge Schedule’, and the ‘Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale’ were administered to a total of 714 college students (62.2% female; mean age = 20.9). Results We found that 43.8% of students agreed that one of the main causes of mental illness is a lack of self‐discipline and willpower, 21.9% did not consider depression as a mental illness, and 39.6% felt that they would be 'unlikely' or 'very unlikely' to seek the help of a health professional for mental health problems. Females had higher scores in help‐seeking intentions ( p < .001) and knowledge of mental illness ( p = .019). Students' age negatively correlated with knowledge ( p < .001, r = −.147). Pearson correlations indicated that help‐seeking intentions positively correlated with more favourable future intentions of being in contact with a person with a mental illness ( p < .001, r = .103) and greater mental health knowledge ( p < .001, r = .163); and that comfort with disclosing significantly and negatively correlated with attitudes ( p < .001, r = −.125). Conclusion To date, few young people see mental health professionals as a preferred source of support, and action is needed to change this perception or reform mental health services to make them more attractive to this age group.