The Relationship Between Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Attitudes in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed With Mental Disorders

Aim This study aimed to determine the relationship between mental health literacy and psychological help-seeking attitude in children/adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders. Method This study was conducted between November 13, 2024, and January 15, 2025, with 228 children/adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders in the Child-Adolescent Mental Health Outpatient Clinic of Dicle University Hospital. It has a cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational design. The Personal Information Form, Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Scale (AMHLS), and Psychological Help Seeking Attitude Scale (ATSPHS) were used for data collection. Number, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used to analyze descriptive data. Kurtosis and Skewness (-1.96 to 1.96) were used to analyze whether the scale scores and numerical variables were normally distributed. It was determined that the mean scale scores were normally distributed. In comparing the scales according to sociodemographic variables, the Student t-test was used for binary variables, and ANOVA was used for variables with three or more levels. Simple linear regression and Enter's method were used to determine the effect of AMHLS on ATSPHS. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to examine the internal consistency of the AMHLS and ATSPHS. All findings were analyzed at a p<0.05 significance level. Results The mean age of the participants was 14.62 (1.80) years, and the mean age at diagnosis was 12.75 (3.00) years. The mean total score of the participants was 36.60 (9.94), and the mean total score of the participants was 65.89 (11.40). According to Pearson correlation analysis, a statistically significant negative and weak correlation was found between the participants' ATSPHS and AMHLS scale scores (r = -0.39, p < 0.001). It was found that the total scores of AMHLS were statistically significant as a predictor of ATSPHS (R ² =0.15). Conclusion In this study, it was found that psychological help-seeking behaviors of children/adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders were moderate, mental health literacy was above the middle, and psychological help-seeking behaviors decreased as mental health literacy levels increased. Psychiatric nurses should be provided to reach children/adolescents within the scope of mental health education in schools about mental health literacy and psychological help-seeking behaviors.