Assessing mental health literacy and associated factors among first-year undergraduates at University of Colombo

Background: Mental health literacy is “knowledge and beliefs of mental disorders which aid their recognition, management, or prevention”. It is one of the major determinants of mental health. So far, no studies have been conducted to assess all attributes of mental health literacy in Sri Lanka. Assessing mental health literacy and associated factors will improve awareness about treatment and reduce stigma.
Objectives and method: The objective of the study was to describe mental health literacy and related factors among first-year undergraduates at a state university in Sri Lanka.
A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 420 first-year undergraduates at the University of Colombo using cluster sampling. Participants completed a 35-item culturally validated Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) in Sinhala (MHLS-S) and Tamil (MHLS-T) to assess mental health literacy. Descriptive statistics were employed to examine the participants' socio-demographic details and to gauge their general perceptions of mental health. T-test and one-way ANOVA were utilised to analyse the associations between categorical variables and mental health literacy.
Results: The Mean Mental Health Literacy (MHL) of the study population was 110.15. Students from the Faculty of Medicine had the highest mean MHL of 117.43, while the lowest mean MHL (101.93) was observed in students from the Sri Palee campus, which offers undergraduate programmes in the arts stream. MHL is positively correlated with help-seeking behaviour; those who would seek help scored 112.09, whereas those who would not scored 105.47. Fifteen per cent of the students believed that unscientific treatment methods are effective for mental illness. Ten point five per cent of students believed that there is no treatment for mental illness. Students who would approach a mental health professional if they encountered a mental health problem showed signifi-cantly higher mean MHL (p=0.000). A positive correlation was found between MHL and attitudes. Students who learned about mental health solely through the media demonstrated a lower mean MHL (107.6). Students from Batticaloa district had the highest mean MHL of 123.63, while students from Hambantota district had the lowest at 95.75. Vavuniya, Batticaloa, and Mannar districts scored highly across different attributes. Statistically significant differences were observed in the mean scores of all six attributes among students from various districts and faculties. Students from the Sri Palee campus showed a notable difference in mean attitude score (47.73) compared to the Faculty of Medicine (57.27)(p=0.004), indicating differences in attitudes towards mental illness and mentally ill patients.
Conclusion: The study revealed a high overall Mental Health Literacy (MHL) among undergraduates at the University of Colombo. Demographic factors such as age, gender, and academic affiliation showed limited influence. Personal or family mental health history, sources of knowledge, approaching a mental health professional, and beliefs in the efficacy of treatment had significant effects on MHL. MHL was positively associated with help-seeking behaviours and attitudes. Regional and academic differences also indicate that targeted interventions and educational strategies could be effective in improving mental health literacy within specific groups.