IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dbk/health/v3y2024ip.341id.341.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

University Students Mental Health Literacy: A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Martínez Líbano
  • Osorio Arévalo
  • Soto Valdivia
  • Barahona-Fuentes
  • Iturra Lara

Abstract

Introduction: Mental health literacy (MHL) refers to the knowledge and beliefs related to recognizing, managing, and preventing mental disorders. University students' understanding of mental health is crucial, as this population faces significant psychological challenges. This systematic review aimed to assess the level of MHL among university students and identify key factors influencing their mental health knowledge. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Literature was searched in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Medline for studies published between January 2020 and December 2024. Eleven relevant articles were selected based on inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and analyzed to determine the main factors affecting MHL among university students. Results: Findings revealed that MHL varies significantly among students and is influenced by multiple factors. Sociodemographic characteristics, cultural diversity, stigmatization, psychiatric history, and personal experiences with mental illness or psychological distress were identified as key determinants of MHL levels. Limited awareness and persistent stigma were common barriers affecting students' ability to recognize and seek help for mental health conditions. Conclusions: University students' MHL is shaped by diverse personal and contextual factors. Addressing stigma and enhancing awareness through targeted educational interventions could improve mental health outcomes in academic settings. Future research should explore effective strategies to increase MHL and reduce barriers to mental health care among students.

Suggested Citation

Handle: RePEc:dbk:health:v:3:y:2024:i::p:.341:id:.341
DOI: 10.56294/hl2024.341
as

Download full text from publisher

To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
3. Perform a
for a similarly titled item that would be available.

More about this item

Statistics

Access and download statistics

Corrections

All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dbk:health:v:3:y:2024:i::p:.341:id:.341. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Javier Gonzalez-Argote (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hl.ageditor.ar/ .

Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.