Mental health literacy among secondary school learners in Tshwane region 1: A quantitative study

Background: Mental health literacy (MHL) is one of the crucial factors in the prevention and maintenance of youth mental health. Despite this fact, there is limited research on MHL in this age group. Aim: To determine the MHL in a sample of secondary schoolgoing learners. Setting: Five schools in Tshwane, South Africa. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was done. Three fictive vignettes depicting individuals having symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD), substance-induced psychotic disorder (SIPD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) were presented to participants. The ability to recognise the disorder, knowledge of the best form of help to address the symptoms, and the ability to provide psychological first aid support were assessed. A comparison of MHL between township school learners and urban school learners was conducted. The association between MHL and demographic factors was also assessed. Results: The ability to recognise symptoms and connect them to a particular disorder was high (80.71% for MDD, 61.96% for SIPD and 67.91% for SAD). Correct knowledge on who would best address the symptoms was 52.55% for MDD, 63.83% for SIPD and 23.86% for SAD with a sizable number choosing informal help for the cases of MDD and SAD. There was good psychological first aid knowledge for both MDD and SIPD cases but poor for SAD case. Conclusion: Even though the results are promising regarding the recognition of all three disorders, there is still room for improving MHL in this group, especially in the areas of help-seeking and knowledge about anxiety disorders in general. Contribution: The findings highlight key areas of focus during mental health awareness campaigns to learners.