Effects of a Brief Educational Intervention on Mental Health Literacy in Adolescents

Mental health conditions (MHCs) such as depression and anxiety are prevalent in adolescents, with over 20% diagnosed with at least one condition. Many adolescents also have untreated MHCs, where some research indicates that over 40% of adolescents categorized as having major depression did not receive treatment. Untreated MHCs can last for years, culminating in adulthood thus causing problems with employment, education, relationships, and overall productivity. Although there are school-based programs created for adolescents to educate them on MHCs, these programs are not widespread due to various factors such as time, cost, and teacher inexperience. What is needed is an approach that incorporates these factors into a prevention program targeting young adolescents.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a one-hour of mental health literacy education (MHLE) upon mental health literacy (MHL) scores in 71 adolescents attending school, grades 6 through 8. Desired outcomes are: 1) increased mental health literacy scores for students and 2) acceptability by teachers who gave the presentation.

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) design was used between two schools, and 5 classes, totaling 71 students. Data was collected from the students using the Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire (MHLq) 1 week before, immediately after, and one month after the educational intervention (MHLE). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze differences between groups.

There was a significant increase in knowledge scores of the MHLq after the intervention (p< 0.001) in the experimental group compared to the control group. There was also a significant increase in overall MHLq scores (p= 0.003) in the experimental group compared to the control group. There was a significant decrease (p= 0.036) in help seeking scores in the control group after the intervention. There was no interaction between groups for the self-help scores of the MHLq. Teachers reported that the MHLE was appealing, suitable, and easy to use.

While a relatively small sample from two sites, this study indicates that adolescent mental health literacy can be improved with interventions that are time and resource efficient.