Mental Health Literacy among Parents of Adolescents and Teachers in Korea

Heesung Ko; Heeseung Choi

doi:10.12934/jkpmhn.2015.24.3.168

Journal List > J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > v.24(3) > 1058040

Go to TopGo to Top Go to BottomGo to Bottom

TOOLS

Ko and Choi: Mental Health Literacy among Parents of Adolescents and Teachers in Korea

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2015; 24(3): 168-177.

Published online: 30 September 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2015.24.3.168

Mental Health Literacy among Parents of Adolescents and Teachers in Korea

Heesung Ko¹, Heeseung Choi²

¹College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

²College of Nursing, the Research Institute of Nursing Science Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Ko, Heesung. College of Nursing, Seoul National University, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-799, Korea. Tel: +82-2-740-8852, Fax: +82-2-740-8852, lovisway@snu.ac.kr

Received 6 July 2015 Revised 19 September 2015 Accepted 22 September 2015

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of mental health literacy (MHL) among parents of adolescents and middle and high school teachers in Korea.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used for the present study. Participants were 120 parents and 103 middle and high school teachers in Korea. In 2014-2015 participants completed a survey about two case vignettes(adolescent schizophrenia and depression) and answered questions assessing recognition of these disorders and belief about the helpfulness of interventions and resources. Descriptive analysis, t-test and χ² test were performed.

Results

Schizophrenia was recognized by only 11.6% of parents and 25.2% of teachers. Depression was recognized by 32.5% of parents and 59.2% of teachers. Both parents and teachers acknowledged individual and socio-environmental factors as causes for schizophrenia and depression. However, they were less likely to recognize biological factors as potential causes for mental illness.

Conclusion

The findings demonstrate the need for education programs for parents of adolescents and teachers to improve their mental health literacy, particularly concerning biological causes of mental illness.

Keywords: Recognition, Schizophrenia, Depression, Parents, School teachers

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Case Vignettes Used in the Survey

Table 2

Demographic Characteristics of Parents of Adolescents and Teachers (N=223)

Table 3

Perceived Risk Factors and Stigma for Receiving Treatment of Schizophrenia and Depression Vignette (N=223)

Table 4

Perceived Helpfulness of Interventions and Resources for Schizophrenia and Depression Vignette

References

1. McGlashan TH. Duration of untreated psychosis in first-episode schizophrenia: marker or determinant of course. Biol Psychiatry. 1999; 46(7):899–907. DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3223(99)00084-0.

2. Penttilaä M, Jääskeläinen E, Hirvonen N, Isohanni M, Miettunen J. Duration of untreated psychosis as predictor of long-term outcome in schizophrenia: systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2014; 205(2):88–94.

3. Farooq S, Large M, Nielssen O, Waheed W. The relationship between the duration of untreated psychosis and outcome in low-and-middle income countries: a systematic review and meta analysis. Schizophr Res. 2009; 109(1):15–23.

4. Yoo J, Ahn S, Cho Y, Lee M. A study of duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) for first episode psychosis. Ment Health. 2011; 2:12–16.

5. Gulliver A, Griffiths KM, Christensen H. Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: a systematic review. BMC psychiatry. 2010; 10(1):113.

6. Jorm AF, Korten AE, Jacomb PA, Christensen H, Rodgers B, Pollitt P. Mentalhealth literacy: a survey of the public's ability to recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Med J Aust. 1997; 166(4):182–186.

7. Lee SH, Seo JH. Mental Health Literacy of the Korean Public: a comparison between depression and schizophrenia. Korean J Soc Welf Stud. 2010; 41(2):127–158.

8. Jorm AF. Mental health literacy: empowering the community to take action for better mental health. Am Psychol. 2012; 67(3):231–243. DOI: 10.1037/a0025957.

9. Seo MK, Lee MK. Mental Health Literacy and Vulnerable Group Analysis of Korea. Korean J Soc Welf. 2013; 65(2):313–334.

10. Jeon MS. Mental health literacy of community social welfare service provider [master's thesis]. JinJu: Kyeongsang National University;2013. 33.

11. Cho SC, Ko BJ. Epidemiological Report 2005 - The prevalence of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders. Seoul: Seoul Child Adolescent Mental Health Center;2005.

12. Psychiatry KAoCaA. Adolescent Psychiatry. Seoul: Sigma Press;2012. p. 206.

13. Kim KK, Kim JH, Park SH, HongHS , Ha YJ, Kim JH. The treatment pathway of schizophrenia. Ment Health Policy Forum. 2007; 1:76–91.

14. Gonzalez JM, Alegria M, Prihoda TJ. How do attitudes toward mental health treatment vary by age, gender, and ethnicity/race in young adults. J Commun Psychol. 2005; 33(5):611–629.

15. Komiya N, Good GE, Sherrod NB. Emotional openness as a predictor of college students attitudes toward seeking psychological help. J Couns Psychol. 2000; 47(1):138.

16. Angermeyer MC, Matschinger H. Public beliefs about schizophrenia and depression: similarities and differences. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2003; 38(9):526–534.

17. Lauber C, Nordt C, Falcato L, Roössler W. Do people recognise mental illness? Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2003; 253(5):248–251.

18. Schomerus G, Schwahn C, Holzinger A, Corrigan P, Grabe H, Carta M, et al. Evolution of public attitudes about mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2012; 125(6):440–452.

19. Kim SW, Jang JE, Kim JM, Shin IS, et al. Comparison of stigma according to the term used for schizophrenia: split-mind disorder vs attunement disorder. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2012; 51:210–217.

20. Reavley NJ, Morgan AJ, JormAF . Development of scales to assess mental health literacy relating to recognition of and interventions for depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia/psychosis. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2014; 48(1):61–69.

21. Kim MK. Content analysis on treatment of parents of adolescents with early psychosis [master's thesis]. Busan: Pusan National University;2015. 34.

22. Hyun MS, Nam KA, Ahn YM, Kim MY. The Recognitions of adolescents, parents, and teachers for female adolescents' problem behaviors. J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2005; 14(1):13–22.

TOOLS

Similar articles