Psychological distress and mental health literacy in university students

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to assess university students' levels of psychological distress and mental health literacy. Design and Methods This descriptive and cross-sectional study using self-assessment instruments with 417 volunteer university students was conducted in the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. Findings More than half of the participants had diagnosable psychological distress in terms of mental illness. The participants had a low level of mental health literacy, females and people with a mental illness had higher mental health literacy scores. Practice Implications The results indicated that the scales could be used to develop interventions to assist Turkish students' transition to healthy adulthood. Determining individuals' psychological distress allows early detection of mental problems.