Influence of gender on mental health literacy in young Australians

Objectives: To determine the effects of gender on mental health literacy in young people between 12 and 25 years of age. Design: Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing was employed to conduct a cross-sectional structured interview focusing on young people's awareness of depression and psychosis. Participants: The sample comprised 1207 young Australians (539 males and 668 females) between the ages of 12-25 recruited from two metropolitan and two regional areas within Victoria. Six hundred and six respondents were presented a depression vignette and 601 were presented a psychosis vignette. Results: Female respondents (60.7%) were significantly more likely to correctly identify depression in the vignette as compared to male respondents (34.5%). No significant gender differences were noted for the psychosis vignette. Males were less significantly likely to endorse seeing a doctor or psychologist/counsellor for the treatment of psychosis. Males were also significantly more likely than females to endorse alcohol as a way of dealing with depression and antibiotics as useful for dealing with psychosis. Conclusion: Gender differences in mental health literacy are striking. Males showed significantly lower recognition of symptoms associated with mental illness and were more likely endorse the use alcohol to deal with mental health problems. Such factors may contribute to the delays in help seeking seen in young males. Further research is needed to delineate how these gender differences in young people may obstruct help seeking, early intervention and other aspects of mental health service delivery.

Mental health literacy in rural Queensland: results of a community survey

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the awareness of, and attitudes to, mental health issues in rural dwelling Queensland residents. A secondary objective was to provide baseline data of mental health literacy prior to the implementation of Australian Integrated Mental Health Initiative - a health promotion strategy aimed at improving the health outcomes of people with chronic or recurring mental disorders. Method: In 2004 a random sample of 2% (2132) of the estimated adult population in each of eight towns in rural Queensland was sent a postal survey and invited to participate in the project. A series of questions were asked based on a vignette describing a person suffering major depression. In addition, questions assessed respondents' awareness and perceptions of community mental health agencies. Results: Approximately one-third (36%) of those surveyed completed and returned the questionnaire. While a higher proportion of respondents (81%) correctly identified and labelled the problem in the vignette as depression than previously reported in Australian community surveys, the majority of respondents (66%) underestimated the prevalence of mental health problems in the community. Furthermore, a substantial number of respondents (37%) were unaware of agencies in their community to assist people with mental health issues while a majority of respondents (57.6%) considered that the services offered by those agencies were poor. Conclusion: While mental health literacy in rural Queensland appears to be comparable to other Australian regions, several gaps in knowledge were identified. This is in spite of recent widespread coverage of depression in the media and thus, there is a continuing need for mental health education in rural Queensland.

Belief in dealing with depression alone: Results from community surveys of adolescents and adults

Background: Community surveys have found that some people believe that it is better to deal with depression alone rather than seek help. However, there has been little research into the characteristics of this group. Methods: Data were drawn from three Australian surveys: (1) a national survey of 1001 adults aged 18+ years; (2) a school survey of 552 students aged 14-16 years from two regions; (3) a survey of 577 young people aged 12-17 years from the Melbourne region. In all three surveys, participants who believed it would be helpful to deal with depression alone were contrasted with those who believed it would be harmful in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, recognition of depression in a vignette, contact with people who experienced depression, beliefs about treatments, beliefs about using substances, beliefs about long-term outcomes, and beliefs about causes. Results: In both adolescents and adults, belief in dealing with depression alone was associated with male gender, less favourable views about mental health professionals, more favourable views about using substances to deal with depression, and a more positive expectation about the outcome if treatment is not sought. Adolescents believing in dealing with depression alone had more favourable views about some potential helpers, such as church workers and pharmacists. In adults, but not adolescents, there was an association with the belief that depression is caused by personal weakness. Limitations: The surveys did not directly ask about reasons for believing that dealing with depression alone would be helpful and did not assess actual help-seeking. Conclusions: Factors encouraging dealing with depression alone are a belief that it is a self-limiting disorder, that substances are an effective way to deal with it and, in adults, that depression is due to personal weakness. Consistent with previous research, males are an important target group for encouraging seeking help to deal with depression. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.