Mental Health Literacy and Attitudes Towards Seeking Psychological Help in Nursing Students

Objective: Mental Health Literacy is a subset of healthcare literacy that provides recognition of knowledge and beliefs regarding mental disorders, their prevention and management, and help-seeking behaviors for mental disorders. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Mental Health Literacy and independent variables on the attitudes of nursing students toward seeking psychological help. Method: The study sample consisted of 361 students. The Student Descriptive Questionnaire, Mental Health Literacy Scale, and Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form were used to collect the study data. Results: The mean score of the Mental Health Literacy Scale was 16.925±3.122, and the mean score of Attitude Toward Seeking Psychological Help was 66.044±9.432. Mental Health Literacy explained 20% of the Attitude Toward Seeking Psychological Help. It was detected that gender had a negative and significant impact on the Attitude Toward Seeking Psychological Help (B = -2.774, β = -0.130). The results showed that students who considered seeking psychological help had a more positive attitude on this issue. Conclusion: It is possible to argue that as individuals’ Mental Health Literacy increases, their attitudes toward seeking psychological help become more positive, men have a more negative attitude toward seeking psychological help than women, and individuals who consider seeking psychological help exhibit a more positive attitude in this respect. It is important to support students who do not think of seeking psychological help and male students in seeking psychological first aid and to raise awareness among students by organizing panels and symposiums on the problems created by gender roles.