Regional disparities and impact of mental health literacy on help-seeking intention among Chinese rural and urban adolescents: An empirical study

Background: Mental health literacy plays a crucial role in shaping adolescents’ help-seeking intentions. However, regional disparities, specifically between rural and urban areas, in mental health literacy and help-seeking intentions, and their interrelationships, remain underexplored among Chinese adolescents.Objective: This study aims to investigate the potential rural-urban differences in mental health literacy and help-seeking intentions and further examine the potential impact of mental health literacy on help-seeking intentions among Chinese adolescents.Methods: Junior high school students (urban: 70; rural: 70) aged 13 to 16 years were randomly selected as participants. The Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Assessment and modified General Help-seeking Questionnaire were employed to measure mental health literacy and help-seeking intentions, respectively. Covariance and t-tests were utilised to analyse regional differences. Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression were conducted to explore mental health literacy’s impact on help-seeking intentions. Results: Adolescents from the urban site exhibited significantly higher mental health literacy than those from the rural site, whereas differences in formal and informal help-seeking intentions were not significant after covariates were considered. Preferences for help-seeking resources varied descriptively, with urban adolescents favouring mental health counsellors and the rural group favouring teachers. Specific dimensions of mental health literacy predicted both professional and non-professional help-seeking intentions.Conclusion: Findings highlight a significant rural-urban difference in adolescents’ mental health literacy, while formal and informal help-seeking intentions were not significantly different after controlling for covariates. Specific aspects of mental health literacy partially predicted help-seeking intentions, emphasising the importance of targeted mental health education and developmental factors, such as age, in promoting effective help-seeking.