Mental health literacy for social phobia in Ghana: Investigation of gender stereotypes and previous experience for recognition rates and prejudice

Background: Mental health literacy (MHL) research has been of substantial interest internationally. Nevertheless, the interplay between beliefs, attitudes, previous experience with mental disorders, and knowledge of Ghanaians on specific mental disorders remains to be understood. The present study explored the interconnectedness between gender stereotypes, prejudice, previous experience with social phobia, and MHL among the general population in Ghana. Method: Six hundred and one Ghanaians were recruited for an online experimental study design using a survey approach for data gathering. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (i.e., male and female vignettes) depicting symptoms of social phobia for a hypothetical person. Participants further completed self-reported measures including gender stereotypes (based on Ambivalent Sexism Inventory) and prejudice. Results: Results revealed a 15.5% recognition rate for social phobia. Recognition rates of social phobia did not differ by the experimental condition or by the gender of participants. However, personal experience of social phobia was positively related to an increased likelihood of correctly labeling social phobia among men in the female vignette condition, whereas correct recognition of social phobia was negatively related to prejudice among women in the male vignette condition. In the male vignette condition, men with more hostile sexism attitudes toward men exhibited more prejudice toward their hypothetical male counterpart. In contrast, women with hostile sexism attitudes toward men exhibited less prejudice, but greater benevolent sexism attitudes toward men was associated with more prejudice toward the hypothetical male in the vignette. Conclusion: Findings from the current study emphasize the role of the cultural milieu in shaping effective mental health interventions. The results also have implications for promoting MHL to reduce prejudice in Ghana and other developing countries in the region.