![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
This study assessed mental health literacy in Irish adolescents (N = 187), and explored participants’ help-giving responses toward hypothetical depressed peers. Participants read five vignettes, each describing an adolescent experiencing a life difficulty; two of the characters met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV) criteria for depression. The majority of participants could not identify depression or potential suicidality, but felt concerned for the depressed characters’ well-being. Most participants stated they would provide help if they were the depressed characters’ friends. Correct identification of depression did not influence the type of help offered. A significant proportion of participants did not mention engaging an adult’s assistance, and assessing for suicidality was not mentioned by any participant. Gender differences were found in mental health literacy and the type of responses offered. Education that emphasizes the importance of informing an adult and assessing for suicidal risk is recommended.
Keywords adolescence, mental health literacy, help-giving, peers, depression
References
Section:
|
Albert, D., Steinberg, L. (2011). Judgment and decision making in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 211-224. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00724.x Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
American Psychiatric Association . (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Barney, L. J., Griffiths, K. M., Jorm, A. F., Christensen, H. (2006). Stigma about depression and its impact on help-seeking intentions. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 51-54. doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01741.x Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Barter, C., Renold, E. (2000). “I wanna tell you a story”: Exploring the application of vignettes in qualitative research with children and young people. International Journal of Social Research, 3, 307-323. doi:10.1080/13645570050178594 Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Bennett, D., Ambrosini, P., Kudes, D., Metz, C., Rabinovich, H. (2005). Gender differences in adolescent depression: Do symptoms differ for boys and girls? Journal of Affective Disorders, 89, 35-44. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2005.05.020 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Bokhorst, C. L., Sumter, S. R., Westenberg, P. M. (2010). Social support from parents, friends, classmates, and teachers in children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years: Who is perceived as most supportive? Social Development, 19, 417-426. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2009.00540.x Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Boldero, J., Fallon, B. (1995). Adolescent help seeking: What do they get help for and from whom? Journal of Adolescence, 18, 193-209. doi:10.1006/jado.1995.1013 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Burns, J., Rapee, R. (2006). Adolescent mental health literacy: Young people’s knowledge of depression and help seeking. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 225-239. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2005.05.004 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Central Statistics Office . (2012). Profile 7: Religion, ethnicity and Irish travellers. Retrieved from http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/census2011profile7/Profile,7,Education,Ethnicity,and,Irish,Traveller,entire,doc.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Chambers, D., Murphy, F. (2011). Learning to reach out: Young people, mental health literacy and the Internet. Dublin: Inspire Ireland Foundation. Google Scholar | |
|
Cotton, S., Wright, A., Harris, M., Jorm, A., McGorry, P. (2006). Influence of gender on mental health literacy in young Australians. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 790-796. doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01885.x Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Department of Education and Science . (2000). Junior cycle: Social, personal, and health education. Retrieved from https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/Junior-Cycle-/Syllabuses-Guidelines/jc_sphe_sy.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Dooley, B., Fitzgerald, A. (2012). My world survey: National study of youth mental health. Dublin, Ireland: UCD School of Psychology. Google Scholar | |
|
Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K. M., Christensen, H. (2010). Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: A systematic review. BMC Psychiatry, 10(1), 113. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-10-113 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Health Service Executive . (2011, December 1). Fourth annual child and adolescent mental health service report 2011-2012. Retrieved from http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/publications/Mentalhealth/camhs20112012annualreport.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Hsieh, H. F., Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15, 1277-1288. doi:10.1177/1049732305276687 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Jorm, A. (2000). Mental health literacy: Public knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 396-401. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Jorm, A., Kelly, C., Wright, A., Parslow, R., Harris, M., McGorry, P. (2006). Belief in dealing with depression alone: Results from community surveys of adolescents and adults. Journal of Affective Disorders, 96, 59-65. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2006.05.018 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Jorm, A., Korten, A., Jacomb, P., Christensen, H., Rodgers, B., Pollitt, P. (1997). Mental health literacy: A survey of the public’s ability to recognise mental health disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Medical Journal of Australia, 166, 182-186. Google Scholar | Medline | ISI | |
|
Jorm, A., Morgan, A., Wright, A. (2008). First aid strategies that are helpful to young people developing a mental disorder: Beliefs of health professionals compared to young people and parents. BMC Psychiatry, 8, 42. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-8-42 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Jorm, A., Wright, A., Morgan, A. (2007). Beliefs about appropriate first aid for young people with mental disorders: Findings from an Australian national survey of youth and parents. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 1, 61-70. doi:10.1111/j.1751-7893.2007.00012.x Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Kelly, C., Jorm, A., Rodgers, B. (2006). Adolescents’ responses to peers with depression or conduct disorder. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 63-66. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Kelly, C., Jorm, A., Wright, A. (2007). Improving mental health literacy as a strategy to facilitate early intervention for mental disorders. Medical Journal of Australia, 187, 26-30. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Lawlor, E., Breslin, J., Renwick, L., Foley, S., Mulkerrin, U., Kinsella, A., . . . O’Callaghan, E. (2008). Mental health literacy among Internet users. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 2, 247-255. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Leighton, S. (2009). Adolescents’ understanding of mental health problems: Conceptual confusion. Journal of Public Mental Health, 8, 4-14. doi:10.1108/17465729200900009 Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Leighton, S. (2010). Using a vignette-based questionnaire to explore adolescents’ understanding of mental health issues. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15, 231-250. doi:10.1177/1359104509340234 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
MacEvoy, J., Asher, S. (2012). When friends disappoint: Boys’ and girls’ responses to transgressions of friendship expectations. Child Development, 83, 104-119. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01685.x Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
McMahon, S. D., Wernsman, J., Parnes, A. L. (2006). Understanding prosocial behavior: The impact of empathy and gender among African American adolescents. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, 135-137. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.10.008 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
National Educational Psychological Service . (2013). Well-being in post-primary schools: Guidelines for mental health promotion and suicide prevention. Dublin, Ireland: Department of Education and Skills/Health Service Executive/Department of Health. Google Scholar | |
|
Olsson, D. P., Kennedy, M. G. (2010). Mental health literacy among young people in a small US town: Recognition of disorders and hypothetical helping responses. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 4, 291-298. doi:10.1111/j.1751-7893.2010.00196.x Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Patel, V., Flisher, A. J., Hetrick, S., McGorry, P. (2007). Mental health of young people: A global public-health challenge. The Lancet, 369, 1302-1313. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60368-7 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Patton, G. (2011, July 21). Global patterns of mortality in young people. United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Adolescents, Youth and Development, New York, NY. Google Scholar | |
|
Pinto-Foltz, M. D., Hines-Martin, V., Logsdon, M. C. (2010). How adolescent girls understand and manage depression within their peer group: A grounded theory investigation. School Mental Health, 2, 36-43. doi:10.1007/s12310-009-9024-7 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Power, M., Cleary, D., Fitzpatrick, C. (2008). Mental health promotion in Irish schools: A selective review. Advances in School Mental Health, 1, 5-15. doi:10.1080/1754730X.2008.9715718 Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Stiffman, A., Hadley-Ives, E., Doré, P., Polgar, M., Horvath, V. S., Elze, D. (2000). Youths’ access to mental health services: The role of providers’ training, resource connectivity, and assessment of need. Mental Health Services Research, 2, 141-154. doi:10.1023/A:1010189710028 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Stiffman, A., Pescosolido, B., Cabassa, L. (2004). Building a model to understand youth service access: The Gateway Provider Model. Mental Health Services Research, 6, 189-198. doi:10.1023/B:MHSR.0000044745.09952.33 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Sullivan, C., Arensman, E., Keeley, S., Corcoran, P., Perry, I. (2004). Young people’s mental health: A report of the findings from the lifestyle and coping survey. Retrieved from http://nsrf.ie/wp-content/uploads/reports/YoungPeoplesMentalHealthReport.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Swords, L., Hennessy, E., Heary, C. (2011). Adolescents’ beliefs about sources of help for ADHD and depression. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 485-492. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.06.002 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Pine, D. S., Thapar, A. K. (2012). Depression in adolescence. The Lancet, 379, 1056-1067. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60871-4 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
UNICEF Ireland . (2011). Changing the future: Experiencing adolescence in contemporary Ireland: Mental health. Dublin: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Vogel, D. L., Wade, N. G., Wester, S. R., Larson, L., Hackler, A. H. (2007). Seeking help from a mental health professional: The influence of one’s social network. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 63, 233-245. doi:10.1002/jclp Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Williams, B., Pow, J. (2007). Gender differences and mental health: An exploratory study of knowledge and attitudes to mental health among Scottish teenagers. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 12, 8-12. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2006.00413.x Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Wright, A., Jorm, A. F., Harris, M. G., McGorry, P. D. (2007). What’s in a name? Is accurate recognition and labelling of mental disorders by young people associated with better help-seeking and treatment preferences? Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 244-250. doi:10.1007/s00127-006-0156-x Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI |
Author Biographies
Sadhbh Byrne, BA (Hons), is a PhD candidate in psychology, enrolled on the Structured PhD in Child & Youth Research program at the Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Her research interests include mental health literacy, parent–child interaction in adolescence, peer relationships, and informal mental health support.
Lorraine Swords, PhD, is a lecturer in child and adolescent psychology with the School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Her research interests include children’s perceptions of peers experiencing physical or mental health difficulties, and participatory research approaches with children and young people.
Elizabeth Nixon, PhD, is assistant professor in developmental psychology with the School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Her research interests include children’s agency, parenting processes, and the influence of family transitions on children’s development.
