NCJ Number
213844
Journal
Journal of Adolescence Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 225-239
Date Published
April 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the mental health literacy of a sample of Australian adolescents, especially in terms of their ability to recognize symptoms of depression in their peers.
Abstract
The results indicated a mixed level of understanding in terms of adolescents’ ability to correctly label depression and to identify its key symptoms. Nevertheless, most of the adolescents were able to differentiate depressed and non-depressed scenarios in terms of severity of symptoms and expected recovery times and more than 90 percent of the adolescents reported that the depressed scenarios needed outside intervention. Interestingly, less than 2 percent of the sample considered doctors an appropriate choice for a depressed individual seeking help. Gender differences emerged, with girls more likely to correctly identify depression than boys. The findings indicate that mental health education should be different for males and females. Participants were 202 students from 2 private, single sex schools in Sydney, Australia; their median age was 16 years. Participants completed the Friend in Need Questionnaire which was developed for this study and presented five brief vignettes of young people in a range of life difficulties. Rather than responding to multiple-choice questions, this questionnaire asked participants to generate their own answers. Data were coded and statistically analyzed using two-way analysis of variance. Future research should focus on developing research methodologies capable of assessing mental health literacy in a more natural context. Tables, appendix, references