Mental Health Literacy and the Belief in the Supernatural

Abstract

Objective: Mental health literacy affects treatment seeking. We compare literacy levels of psychiatric outpatients and a control group of outpatients seeking treatment for non-psychiatric disorders in the same hospital. We hypothesized higher levels of mental health literacy among psychiatric patients than controls, with younger age and higher educational levels associated with better literacy. We also hypothesized that there would be an inverse relationship between educational level and the belief in the supernatural causality of mental disorders. Methods: Literacy was estimated by showing psychiatric outpatients and a control group of non-psychiatric patients vignettes depicting a case of major depression and a case of generalised anxiety disorder. Their opinions regarding diagnosis, etiology, treatment, and attitudes towards mental health services were ascertained by structured questionnaires. Results: Psychiatric patients did not demonstrate superior mental health literacy compared to controls, with the exception of knowing where to obtain a psychiatric referral. Lower age and higher education levels of psychiatric patients were associated with better literacy. The higher the education level is, the less likely to attribute the causality of mental disorders to supernatural elements. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for a program of psycho-education targeting patients, their relatives, and the public.

Does Ganja Cause Mental Illness? Perspectives from a Population-based Assessment of Mental Health Literacy in Jamaica

“…As noted earlier regarding age and perceptions on aetiology of mental illness, the reasons for the lower mental health literacy among the younger age group are not known, but may be connected with their not being sensitized to seeking information on mental health online as well as inadequate presentation of mental health in electronic and print media and within their communities. This finding is at disparity with other studies which observed that younger age group was associated with better mental health literacy (6,(16)(17)(18). This present study found that the level of education of respondents influenced their perceptions on how mental illness could be identified.…”

“…This present study found that the level of education of respondents influenced their perceptions on how mental illness could be identified. Consistent with other studies, respondents with a higher level of education had better knowledge on identification of mental illness (6,16,18). Conversely, significantly lower proportions of respondents with no formal education reported that mental illness could be identified.…”

“…Age was significantly associated with perceptions on causes of mental illness. Previous studies have documented that lower age group is associated with better mental health (6,18). Contrary to their findings, this present study found that younger respondents (aged 15-29 years) seemed to have less knowledge of the aetiology of mental illness, which is consistent with a study of adolescents which found rather low mental health literacy among them (19).…”

“…'Mental health literacy' includes the ability to recognize specific disorders, having knowledge of the risk factors, causes and available treatments, knowing how to seek mental health information, as well as attitudes that promote recognition and appropriate help-seeking behaviours (4). The need for mental health literacy has become a critical discussion within the public health arena, particularly as research has suggested that people's beliefs about the causes of mental illness affect their help-seeking behaviours, ie whether or not help is sought, the type of help that is sought and also their overall response to treatment (3,(5)(6)(7).…”

Perceptions of Appropriateness of Psychiatric Referrals by Healthcare Professionals in a General Hospital

“…[11] In Southeast Asia, there is a strong belief in the activity of supernatural agents (from witchcraft and black magic to evil spirits and divine anger) in bringing about mental disorders. [12][13][14] Among the three groups of HCPs there was a significant over-representation of Malay nurses (refer to table 1) Razali et al have observed that Malays tended to attribute mental conditions to supernatural elements. [13] While it is possible that Malay nurses endorsed spiritual interventions over psychiatric treatment, there appeared to be no association between particular ethnicity and preference for psychiatric referral in the schizophrenia vignette (p > 0.05).…”