Predictors of psychological symptom risk in older adults in Türkiye: the role of mental health literacy and demographic-clinical factors

While psychological symptoms are common among older adults, Mental Health Literacy (MHL) is low. This situation may show significant differences in MHL levels and psychological symptom severity among risk groups. However, this is not sufficiently clear. Therefore, this study aimed to examine psychological symptom risk levels and MHL among older adults in Türkiye, and to identify demographic, clinical, and MHL-related factors associated with variation in continuous Global Severity Index (GSI) scores within the high-risk and very-high-risk groups. A cross-sectional design was used. The study was completed with 985 older adults aged between 65 and 89 years. Data were collected via the Participant Information Form, MHL Scale, and Symptom Checklist–90–Revised (SCL-90-R). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of high-risk psychological symptoms, with multicollinearity checked via VIF values. Based on GSI scores obtained from the SCL-90-R scale, 42.6% of participants were in the normal risk group, 39.6% in the high-risk group, and 17.8% in the very high-risk group. In Model 1, multivariate regression analyses revealed that low MHL, being aged 65–74, female gender, low education level, and a history of mental disorder were significant predictors of high-risk GSI. In Model 2, the absence of a physical chronic disease was additionally found to be a significant predictor. Together, these variables explained 31–34% of the variance in GSI risk. These results suggest that MHL, along with key demographic and clinical factors, plays a significant role in predicting high-risk GSI among older adults.