scholarly journals Development and validation of the Espaijove.net mental health literacy (EMHL) test for Spanish adolescents

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pere Castellvi ◽  
Rocio Casanas ◽  
Victoria-Mailen Arfuch ◽  
Juan-José Gil Moreno ◽  
María Torres Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Background There is evidence of the effectiveness of implementing Mental Health Literacy (MHL) programs in improving mental health knowledge and reducing the stigma. However, there are substantial limitations in the instruments of measurement of mental health literacy. This study aimed to develop and validate the EspaiJove.net MHL test (EMHL) for Spanish adolescents assessing its psychometric properties.Methods The development of the EMHL as a maximum performance test was conducted using item pool generation and pilot study. Content generation was assessed according item relevance by mental health professionals’ and comprehensive and non-offensiveness by adolescents’ focus groups. A convenience sample of high school students aged 13-15y (n=355) participated in the validity study. Reliability was assessed with internal consistency and test-retest. Convergent validity was evaluated comparing effect size among known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, correlation with mental health-related instruments, and item discrimination index.Results A final version of 35-item EMHL test was obtained with two parts: (i) 1st part consist of binary choice format (yes/no) for the identification of mental disorders; (ii) The part 2 has multiple choice questions with four possible answer options based on the thematic contents of the EspaiJove.net program. Internal consistency was acceptable in the 1st part (Cronbach’s alpha=0.744; Guttman’s lambda 2=0.773) and almost acceptable in the 2nd part (Cronbach’s alpha=0.615; Guttman’s lambda 2=0.643). The test-retest evaluation supported the stability of the test (1st part, ICC= 0.578; 2nd part, ICC= 0.422), no ceiling and floor effects were found. The EMHL test scores discriminated known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, it is associated with a reduction of related-stigma, emotional symptoms, conduct problems and bullying behaviours and anxiety/depression and self-care quality of life (p<0.05), and it shows a strong discrimination index in almost all items (D≥0.40).Conclusions The EMHL test is a relevant measure for mental health prevention and promotion adapted to Spanish context taking into account the opinion of adolescents, using a non-offensive and adolescent-adapted vocabulary with acceptable validity and stability for assessing MHL levels in adolescents.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of the EspaiJove.net Mental Health Literacy (EMHL) Test for Spanish Adolescents

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Pere Castellvi ◽  
Rocío Casañas ◽  
Victoria-Mailen Arfuch ◽  
Juan José Gil Moreno ◽  
María Torres Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge ◽  
Different Levels

There is evidence of the effectiveness of implementing mental health literacy (MHL) programs. However, there are substantial limitations in the instruments available for measuring MHL. This study aimed to develop and validate the EspaiJove.net MHL test (EMHL) for Spanish adolescents by assessing its psychometric properties. The development of the EMHL test was conducted using item pool generation and a pilot study. A convenience sample of students aged 13–15 years (n = 355) participated in the validity study. Reliability was assessed for internal consistency and via test-retest. Convergent validity was evaluated by comparing the effect sizes among known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, the correlation with mental health-related instruments, and the item discrimination index. A final version of a 35-item EMHL test was obtained with two parts: (i) a binary choice format (yes/no) for the identification of mental disorders; (ii) a multiple choice question with four possible answer options. Internal consistency was acceptable in the first part (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.744; Guttman’s lambda 2 = 0.773) and almost acceptable in the second part (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.615; Guttman’s lambda 2 = 0.643). The test-retest evaluation supported the stability of the test (first part, ICC = 0.578; second part, ICC = 0.422). No ceiling and floor effects were found. The EMHL test scores discriminated between known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge and it is associated with several-related constructs of MHL. Conclusions: The EMHL test is a relevant measure for assessing MHL in adolescents into Spanish context with acceptable validity and stability.

scholarly journals A Critical Perspective on Mental Health News in Six European Countries: How Are “Mental Health/Illness” and “Mental Health Literacy” Rhetorically Constructed?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1362-1378
Author(s):  
Laura Van Beveren ◽  
Kris Rutten ◽  
Gunnel Hensing ◽  
Ntani Spyridoula ◽  
Viktor Schønning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Health News ◽  
Critical Health Communication ◽  
Health And Illness ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge ◽  
Socially Situated

In this study, we aim to contribute to the field of critical health communication research by examining how notions of mental health and illness are discursively constructed in newspapers and magazines in six European countries and how these constructions relate to specific understandings of mental health literacy. Using the method of cluster-agon analysis, we identified four terminological clusters in our data, in which mental health/illness is conceptualized as “dangerous,” “a matter of lifestyle,” “a unique story and experience,” and “socially situated.” We furthermore found that we cannot unambiguously assume that biopsychiatric discourses or discourses aimed at empathy and understanding are either exclusively stigmatizing or exclusively empowering and normalizing. We consequently call for a critical conception of mental health literacy arguing that all mental health news socializes its audience in specific understandings of and attitudes toward mental health (knowledge) and that discourses on mental health/illness can work differently in varying contexts.

scholarly journals A survey of mental health literacy in Japanese high school teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Yamaguchi ◽  
Jerome Clifford Foo ◽  
Yuko Kitagawa ◽  
Fumiharu Togo ◽  
Tsukasa Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Panic Disorder ◽  
High School Teachers ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge

Abstract Background School teachers are well-positioned to recognize mental health problems in their students and to help them seek appropriate help. Therefore, teachers need to have high levels of mental health literacy (MHL). In East Asia, however, few studies have examined MHL levels in teachers. In this study, MHL levels were investigated in Japanese teachers. Methods Teachers (n = 665) from 27 Japanese high schools answered a self-administered questionnaire which assessed (a) knowledge about mental health/illnesses, (b) correct recognition of specific illnesses (depression, schizophrenia and panic disorder), (c) confidence in helping students with depressive symptoms, and (d) confidence in teaching mental health knowledge to students. Results The average proportion of correct answers to the knowledge questions (n = 20) was 58.1%. The proportion of those who correctly answered about the presence of a sharp increase of mental illnesses in adolescence was 51.7%. Few teachers correctly answered about the life-time prevalences of major mental illness in general (21.9%), depression (37.8%) and schizophrenia (19.8%). Depression, schizophrenia and panic disorder in vignette were correctly recognized by 54.1, 35.3 and 78.0% of teachers, respectively. Correct recognition was significantly lower in male than in female teachers. Only a small proportion of teachers had confidence in helping depressed students (19.9%) and in teaching mental health knowledge to students (11.1%). Conclusions MHL in Japanese high school teachers appears to be low. Education programs should be developed and implemented to improve teacher MHL with the aim of helping them to support students suffering from mental health problems.

scholarly journals Tailored Mental Health Literacy Training Improves Mental Health Knowledge and Confidence among Canadian Farmers

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3807
Author(s):  
Briana N. M. Hagen ◽  
Sherilee L. Harper ◽  
Terri L. O’Sullivan ◽  
Andria Jones-Bitton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Signed Rank ◽  
Literacy Training ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

This study evaluated the impact of “In the Know” mental health literacy training for Canadian agriculture. We hypothesized that “In the Know” would significantly increase participants’ knowledge around mental health, confidence in recognizing mental health struggles, confidence in speaking about mental health with others, and confidence in helping someone who may be struggling with mental health. “In the Know” was a 4-h, in-person program delivered by a mental health professional who also had experience in agriculture. Six sessions were offered in Ontario, Canada in 2018. Participants were farmers and/or worked primarily with farmers. A pre-training paper questionnaire was administered, followed by a post-training questionnaire at the end of the session and 3 and 6 month post-training questionnaires via email. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to compare participants’ self-reported knowledge and confidence across four timepoints. “In the Know” significantly improved participants’ self-reported mental health knowledge and confidence in recognizing mental health struggles, speaking to others, and helping others who are struggling immediately following training and often at 3 and 6 months post-training. This is the first study among farming populations to measure program impact with 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Given the reported associations between mental health literacy and increased help-seeking, disseminating “In the Know” more broadly across farming communities may help to increase mental health literacy and thus increase help-seeking among farmers.

Preparing for the Classroom: Mental Health Knowledge Improvement, Stigma Reduction and Enhanced Help-Seeking Efficacy in Canadian Preservice Teachers

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Carr ◽  
Yifeng Wei ◽  
Stan Kutcher ◽  
Amy Heffernan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Attitudes Toward Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

Mental health literacy is fundamental to improving knowledge about mental health, decreasing stigma, and, therefore, enhancing help-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this cohort study is to evaluate the impact of a mental health literacy program on preservice teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking efficacy. Sixty preservice teachers in a Canadian university participated in a professional development day and completed a survey of their mental health knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness, and help-seeking efficacy. Compared with baseline data, results demonstrated significant and substantial improvements on all three outcomes immediately following the session and after 3 months. Provision of mental health literacy education among preservice teachers may be an effective approach to help them better address student mental health needs in their future teaching career.

Changing patterns of mental health knowledge in rural Kenya after intervention using the WHO mhGAP-Intervention Guide

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (13) ◽  
pp. 2227-2236 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Mutiso ◽  
K. M. Pike ◽  
C. N. Musyimi ◽  
T. J. Rebello ◽  
A. Tele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
World Health ◽  
Clinical Psychologist ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge

AbstractBackgroundDespite the high prevalence of mental disorders, mental health literacy has been comparatively neglected. People's symptom-management strategies will be influenced by their mental health literacy. This study sought to determine the feasibility of using the World Health Organization mhGAP-Intervention Guide (IG) as an educational tool for one-on-one contact in a clinical setting to increase literacy on the specified mental disorders.MethodsThis study was conducted in 20 health facilities in Makueni County, southeast Kenya which has one of the poorest economies in Kenya. It has no psychiatrist or clinical psychologist. We recruited 3267 participants from a community that had already been exposed to community mental health services. We used Mental Health Knowledge Schedule to measure the changing patterns of mental health knowledge after a period of 3 months, following a training intervention using the WHO mhGAP-IG.ResultsOverall, there was a significant increase in mental health related knowledge [mean range 22.4–23.5 for both post-test and pre-test scores (p < 0.001)]. This increase varied with various socio-demographic characteristics such as sex, marital status, level of education, employment status and wealth index.ConclusionsmhGAP-IG is a feasible tool to increase mental health literacy in low-resource settings where there are no mental health specialists. Our study lends evidence that the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2020 and reduction of the treatment gap may be accelerated by the use of mhGAP-IG through improving knowledge about mental illness and potentially subsequent help seeking for early diagnosis and treatment.

scholarly journals A modified version of the mental health literacy scale (MHLS) in Iranian people

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahbobeh Nejatian ◽  
Hadi Tehrani ◽  
Vahideh Momeniyan ◽  
Alireza Jafari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Alpha Coefficient ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

Abstract Background The risk rate for the lifetime prevalence of any mental disorder is calculated as 50%, and the prevalence of mental disorders has an increasing trend. So, this study aimed to evaluate the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) among Iranian people. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted with a multi-stage sampling method with 1273 people in the general population. After searching and reviewing various sources, the research team decided to use the questionnaire of MHLS with 35 items and six attributes that were measured and developed by O’Connor et al. The face, content, and construct validity (Confirmatory factor analysis) were used for validation of MHLS. McDonald’s omega coefficient and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were used to calculate the reliability of MHLS. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed using AMOS software Version 24. Results In the CFA test, the six items were deleted. The final modified version of the MHLS included a total of 29 items with six attributes consisted of (a) knowledge of where to seek information (4 items), (b) ability to recognize disorders (8 items), (c) knowledge of self-treatment (2 items), (d) knowledge of risk factors and causes (2 items), (e) attitudes that promote recognition or appropriate help-seeking behavior (10 items), and (f) knowledge of professional help available (3 items). Based on the results of reliability, McDonald’s omega coefficient and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for all attributes of MHLS were 0.797 and 0.789, respectively. Conclusion Due to the lack of appropriate instruments for measuring mental health literacy in the Iranian population, the modified version of MHLS with 29 items and six attributes can be considered as a valid and reliable instrument for this purpose.

scholarly journals A modified version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) in Iranian people

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahboobeh Nejatian ◽  
Hadi Tehrani ◽  
Vahideh Momenian ◽  
Alireza Jafari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

Abstract Background: The risk rate for the lifetime prevalence of any mental disorder is 50%, and the prevalence of mental disorders is increasing. This study aimed to evaluate the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) in Iranian people.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with a multi-stage sampling method with the participation of 1273 people in the general population. After searching and reviewing various sources, the research team decided to use the questionnaire of MHLS with 35 items and 6 attributes that measured and developed by O'Connor et al. The face, content, and construct validity (Confirmatory factor analysis) were used for validation of MHLS. McDonald’s omega coefficient and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were used to calculate the reliability of MHLS. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed using AMOS software Version 24.Results: In the CFA test, the six items were deleted and the final modified version of the MHLS included a total of 29 items with six attributes consisted of (a) knowledge of where to seek information (4 items), (b) ability to recognize disorders (8 items), (c) knowledge of self-treatment (2 items), (d) knowledge of risk factors and causes (2 items), (e) attitudes that promote recognition or appropriate help-seeking behavior (10 items), and (f) knowledge of professional help available (3 items). Based on the results of reliability, McDonald’s omega and Cronbach's alpha for all attributes of MHLS were 0.797 and 0.789 respectively.Conclusion: Due to the lack of appropriate instruments for measuring mental health literacy in the Iranian population, the modified version of MHLS with 29 items and 6 attributes is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring mental health literacy in the public population.

scholarly journals The development of a contextually appropriate measure of psychological distress in Sierra Leone

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Horn ◽  
Kanykey Jailobaeva ◽  
Stella Arakelyan ◽  
Alastair Ager
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Distress Scale

Abstract Background Studies of psychological distress in Sierra Leone have typically used measures which were developed for use in other contexts, and which often have not been adapted or validated for use in Sierra Leone. This has resulted in a lack of reliable information about the patterns of psychological distress within the population, which is a barrier to the development of effective and appropriate mental health services. The aim of the study was to develop a locally-appropriate measure of psychological distress for Sierra Leone. Methods The new measure consists of two instruments: the Sierra Leone Psychological Distress Scale (SLPDS) and a gendered measure of ability to carry out daily tasks—a Function scale—as an indication of the severity of distress. A three-phase mixed methods exploratory sequential study was conducted. Phase 1 was item generation and testing, leading to the development of a set of potential items for both instruments. Phase 2 was a small pilot study (N = 202) leading to the selection of the final set of items for both measures. Phase 3 was a validation phase where the SLPDS and the Function scale were administered with a larger sample of 904 respondents. Item analysis was used to assess the internal consistency of the scales, and Exploratory Factor Analysis to explore the properties of the SLPDS. Results Exploratory factor analysis using the principal axis factoring with an oblique rotation identified a three-factor structure for the 18-item SLPDS. Internal consistency for the SLPDS (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) and three subscales was good (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.73). The internal reliability of the male and female versions of the Function scale was also found to be acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90 for the female scale and 0.79 for the male scale). Conclusions Together the SLPD and Function scales provide a locally-validated tool which will enable government bodies and local and international non-governmental organisations in Sierra Leone to assess mental health and psychosocial needs. This will support both effective service provision and the evaluation of initiatives designed to improve mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document