Research Article
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Association between mental health literacy and psychological well-being among nursing students in Turkey: A multi-center cross-sectional study

Year 2025, Volume: 19 Issue: 4, 386 - 394
https://doi.org/10.21763/tjfmpc.1600120

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the association between mental health literacy and psychological well-being among nursing students in Türkiye.
Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2021 and July 2022 with 547 fourth-year nursing students enrolled at four universities in Türkiye. The data were collected using a descriptive information form, Mental Health Literacy Scale, and Psychological Well-Being Scale.
Results: The study has revealed that the students had a low level of mental health literacy (113.41±12.78), whereas a high level of psychological well-being (42.73 ± 9.46). Mental health literacy was positively associated with psychological well-being (β =0.191, p < 0.001). Female students had higher levels of mental health literacy and psychological well-being compared to male students.
Conclusions: Improving mental health literacy in nursing students can have a positive effect on their psychosocial well-being. To improve mental health literacy levels of nursing students, it is recommended to include courses on individual coping strategies and psychosocial first aid skills in nursing curricula.

References

  • 1. World Health Organization. Mental disorders. 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders. Access dates:20.12.2022
  • 2. Ratnayake P. Hyde C. Mental health literacy, help-seeking behaviour and wellbeing in young people: implications for practice. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist. 2019;36(1):16–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/edp.2019.1.
  • 3. Bu D. Chung PK. Zhang CQ. Liu J. Wang X. Mental health literacy intervention on help-seeking in athletes: a systematic review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2020; 17(19):7263. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197263.
  • 4. Jorm AF. Mental health literacy: Empowering the community to take action for better mental health. Am. Psychol. 2012; 67(3): 231–243. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025957.
  • 5. Kutcher S. Wei Y. Coniglio C. Mental health literacy: Past, present, and future. Can. J. Psychiatry. 2016a; 61(3):154-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743715616609.
  • 6. Kutcher S. Wei Y. Costa S. Gusmão R. Skokauskas N. Sourander A. Enhancing mental health literacy in young people. Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry. 2016b; 25:567–569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-016-0867-9
  • 7. Clarke A. Friede T. Putz R. Ashdown J. Martin S. Blake A. et. al. 2011. Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): validated for teenage school students in England and Scotland. A mixed methods assessment. BMC Public Health. 2011; 11: 487. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-487.
  • 8. Ratanasiripong P. Wang CC. Psychological well-being of Thai nursing students. Nurse Educ. Today. 2011; 31(4):412-416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2010.08.002.
  • 9. Browne J. Penn DL. Meyer-Kalos PS. Mueser KT. Estroff, S.E., Brunette, M.F. et al. Psychological well-being and mental health recovery in the NIMH RAISE early treatment program. Schizophr. Res.2017; 185:167-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2016.11.032.
  • 10. Lattie EG. Adkins EC. Winquist N. Stiles-Shields C. Wafford QE. Graham, AK. Digital mental health interventions for depression, anxiety, and enhancement of psychological well-being among college students: systematic review. J. Med. Internet Res. 2019; 21(7), e12869. https://doi.org/10.2196/12869.
  • 11. Mills, J., Cumbers, L., Williams, S., & Titley-Wall, H. (2023). The effectiveness of mental health literacy interventions in young people: a meta-analysis. Mental Health Review Journal, 28(4), 386–395
  • 12. Jorm A. We need to move from ‘mental health literacy’ to ‘mental health action’. Mental Health and Prevention. 2020; 18: Article 200179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2020.200179
  • 13. Liu W. Li YM. Peng Y. 2018. Mental health literacy: A cross-sectional study of American and Chinese bachelor of nursing students. J. Psychiatr. Ment. Health Nurs. 2018; 25: 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12442.
  • 14. Miles R. Rabin L. Krishnan A. Grandoit E. Kloskowski K. Mental health literacy in a diverse sample of undergraduate students: demographic, psychological, and academic correlates. BMC Public Health. 2020; 20(1): 1699-1712. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09696-0.
  • 15. Saito AS. Creedy DK. Determining mental health literacy of undergraduate nursing students to inform learning and teaching strategies. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. (IJMHN). 2021; 30(5): 1117–1126. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12862.
  • 16. Marwood MR. Hearn JH. Evaluating mental health literacy in medical students in the United Kingdom. The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice. 2019; 14(5): 339-347. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-01-2019-0001.
  • 17. Gorczynski P. Sims-Schouten W. Hill D. Wilson JC. 2017. Examining mental health literacy, help seeking behaviours, and mental health outcomes in UK university students. Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice. 2017; 12(2):111-120. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-05-2016-0027.
  • 18. O’Connor M.Casey L. 2015. The Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS): a new scale-based measure of mental health literacy. Psychiatry Res. 2015; 229(1-2): 511–516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.064.
  • 19. Tokur Kesgin M. Pehlivan S. Uymaz U. 2020. Study of validity and reliability of the Mental Health Literacy Scale in Turkish. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry. 2020;21(Suppl.2): 5-13. https://doi.org/10.5455/apd.102104.
  • 20. Diener E. Scollon CN. Lucas RE. The evolving concept of subjective well-being: The multifaceted nature of happiness. In: Diener, E. (eds) Assessing Well-Being. Soc. Indic. Res..2009; 39: 67-100. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4_4.
  • 21. Telef B. 2013. The adaptation of psychological well-being into Turkish: A validity and reliability study. Hacettepe University Journal of Education.2013; 28(3): 374-384.
  • 22. Yıldırım S. Yılmaz E. Yalçın D. Güler C. Examining the psychological well-being of nursing students and the affecting factors. Journal of Education and Research in Nursing. 2021; 18(1):57-64. https://doi.org/10.5152/jern.2021.57615.
  • 23. Eşkisu M. Ağırkan M. Haspolat NK. 2018. The relationship between the level of the self stigma of seeking help and the cognitive behavioral avoidance of college students. Anemon Muş Alparslan University Journal of Social Sciences. 2018; 6(STEMES'18) 63-71. https://doi.org/ 10.18506/anemon.463839.
  • 24. Kim EA. Convergence study on stress, stress of clinical practice, coping, and psychological well-being in nursing students. Journal of The Korea Convergence Society. 2018; 9(3): 91-99. https://doi.org/10.15207/JKCS.2018.9.3.091
  • 25. Lee HY. Hwang J. Ball JG. Lee J. Yu Y. Albright D L. Mental health literacy affects mental health attitude: is there a gender difference? Am. J. Health Behav.2020; 44(3): 282–291. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.44.3.1
  • 26. Lauber C. Ajdacic-Gross V. Fritschi N. Stulz N. Rössler W. Mental health literacy in an educational elite–an online survey among university students. BMC Public Health. 2005; 5:44. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-5-44.
  • 27. Sand-Jecklin K. Murray B. Summers B. Watson J. 2010. Educating nursing students about health literacy: From the classroom to the patient bedside. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 2010; 15(3). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No03PPT02.
  • 28. Devraj R. Gupchup GV. Henson D. Mental health literacy of pharmacy students compared to nursing and medical students. Innovation in Pharmacy.2019; 10(4): 10.24926/iip.v10i4.2091. https://doi.org/10.24926/iip.v10i4.2091.
  • 29. Mardhiyah SA. Mental health literacy and psychological distress as predictors of psychological well-being in Sriwijaya University students. Mental Health: Global Challenges. 2021; 4(1): 49-60. https://doi.org/10.32437/mhgcj.v4i1.114
  • 30. Tay JL. Goh YSS. Sim K. Klainin-Yobas P. 2022. Impact of the HOPE intervention on mental health literacy, psychological well-being and stress levels amongst university undergraduates: A randomised controlled trial. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2022; 19: 9772. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159772.

Türkiye'deki hemşirelik öğrencilerinde ruh sağlığı okuryazarlığı ile psikolojik iyi oluş arasındaki ilişki: Çok merkezli kesitsel bir çalışma

Year 2025, Volume: 19 Issue: 4, 386 - 394
https://doi.org/10.21763/tjfmpc.1600120

Abstract

Amaç: Türkiye'deki hemşirelik öğrencilerinde ruh sağlığı okuryazarlığı ile psikolojik iyi oluş arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemektir.
Yöntem: Bu kesitsel çalışma, Aralık 2021 ile Temmuz 2022 tarihleri arasında Türkiye'deki dört üniversitede öğrenim gören 547 dördüncü sınıf hemşirelik öğrencisi ile yürütülmüştür. Veriler, tanımlayıcı bilgi formu, Ruh Sağlığı Okuryazarlığı ölçeği ve psikolojik iyi oluş ölçeği kullanılarak toplanmıştır.
Bulgular: Bulgular, öğrencilerin ruh sağlığı okuryazarlığı düzeylerinin düşük olduğunu (113,41 ± 12,78) , buna karşılık, psikolojik iyi oluş düzeylerinin yüksek olduğunu ortaya koymuştur (42,73 ± 9,46). Ruh sağlığı okuryazarlığı ile psikolojik iyi oluş arasında pozitif bir ilişki bulunmuştur (β = 0,191, p < 0,001). Kız öğrencilerin, ruh sağlığı okuryazarlığı ve psikolojik iyi oluş düzeylerinin erkek öğrencilere kıyasla daha yüksek olduğu görülmüştür.
Sonuç: Hemşirelik öğrencilerinde ruh sağlığı okuryazarlığının geliştirilmesi onların psikososyal iyilik durumları üzerinde olumlu bir etkiye sahip olabilir. Hemşirelik öğrencilerinin ruh sağlığı okuryazarlık düzeylerinin geliştirilmesi için hemşirelik müfredatlarında bireysel başa çıkma stratejileri ve psikososyal ilk yardım becerilerine ilişkin derslere yer verilmesi önerilmektedir.

References

  • 1. World Health Organization. Mental disorders. 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders. Access dates:20.12.2022
  • 2. Ratnayake P. Hyde C. Mental health literacy, help-seeking behaviour and wellbeing in young people: implications for practice. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist. 2019;36(1):16–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/edp.2019.1.
  • 3. Bu D. Chung PK. Zhang CQ. Liu J. Wang X. Mental health literacy intervention on help-seeking in athletes: a systematic review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2020; 17(19):7263. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197263.
  • 4. Jorm AF. Mental health literacy: Empowering the community to take action for better mental health. Am. Psychol. 2012; 67(3): 231–243. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025957.
  • 5. Kutcher S. Wei Y. Coniglio C. Mental health literacy: Past, present, and future. Can. J. Psychiatry. 2016a; 61(3):154-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743715616609.
  • 6. Kutcher S. Wei Y. Costa S. Gusmão R. Skokauskas N. Sourander A. Enhancing mental health literacy in young people. Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry. 2016b; 25:567–569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-016-0867-9
  • 7. Clarke A. Friede T. Putz R. Ashdown J. Martin S. Blake A. et. al. 2011. Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): validated for teenage school students in England and Scotland. A mixed methods assessment. BMC Public Health. 2011; 11: 487. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-487.
  • 8. Ratanasiripong P. Wang CC. Psychological well-being of Thai nursing students. Nurse Educ. Today. 2011; 31(4):412-416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2010.08.002.
  • 9. Browne J. Penn DL. Meyer-Kalos PS. Mueser KT. Estroff, S.E., Brunette, M.F. et al. Psychological well-being and mental health recovery in the NIMH RAISE early treatment program. Schizophr. Res.2017; 185:167-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2016.11.032.
  • 10. Lattie EG. Adkins EC. Winquist N. Stiles-Shields C. Wafford QE. Graham, AK. Digital mental health interventions for depression, anxiety, and enhancement of psychological well-being among college students: systematic review. J. Med. Internet Res. 2019; 21(7), e12869. https://doi.org/10.2196/12869.
  • 11. Mills, J., Cumbers, L., Williams, S., & Titley-Wall, H. (2023). The effectiveness of mental health literacy interventions in young people: a meta-analysis. Mental Health Review Journal, 28(4), 386–395
  • 12. Jorm A. We need to move from ‘mental health literacy’ to ‘mental health action’. Mental Health and Prevention. 2020; 18: Article 200179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2020.200179
  • 13. Liu W. Li YM. Peng Y. 2018. Mental health literacy: A cross-sectional study of American and Chinese bachelor of nursing students. J. Psychiatr. Ment. Health Nurs. 2018; 25: 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12442.
  • 14. Miles R. Rabin L. Krishnan A. Grandoit E. Kloskowski K. Mental health literacy in a diverse sample of undergraduate students: demographic, psychological, and academic correlates. BMC Public Health. 2020; 20(1): 1699-1712. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09696-0.
  • 15. Saito AS. Creedy DK. Determining mental health literacy of undergraduate nursing students to inform learning and teaching strategies. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. (IJMHN). 2021; 30(5): 1117–1126. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12862.
  • 16. Marwood MR. Hearn JH. Evaluating mental health literacy in medical students in the United Kingdom. The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice. 2019; 14(5): 339-347. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-01-2019-0001.
  • 17. Gorczynski P. Sims-Schouten W. Hill D. Wilson JC. 2017. Examining mental health literacy, help seeking behaviours, and mental health outcomes in UK university students. Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice. 2017; 12(2):111-120. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-05-2016-0027.
  • 18. O’Connor M.Casey L. 2015. The Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS): a new scale-based measure of mental health literacy. Psychiatry Res. 2015; 229(1-2): 511–516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.064.
  • 19. Tokur Kesgin M. Pehlivan S. Uymaz U. 2020. Study of validity and reliability of the Mental Health Literacy Scale in Turkish. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry. 2020;21(Suppl.2): 5-13. https://doi.org/10.5455/apd.102104.
  • 20. Diener E. Scollon CN. Lucas RE. The evolving concept of subjective well-being: The multifaceted nature of happiness. In: Diener, E. (eds) Assessing Well-Being. Soc. Indic. Res..2009; 39: 67-100. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4_4.
  • 21. Telef B. 2013. The adaptation of psychological well-being into Turkish: A validity and reliability study. Hacettepe University Journal of Education.2013; 28(3): 374-384.
  • 22. Yıldırım S. Yılmaz E. Yalçın D. Güler C. Examining the psychological well-being of nursing students and the affecting factors. Journal of Education and Research in Nursing. 2021; 18(1):57-64. https://doi.org/10.5152/jern.2021.57615.
  • 23. Eşkisu M. Ağırkan M. Haspolat NK. 2018. The relationship between the level of the self stigma of seeking help and the cognitive behavioral avoidance of college students. Anemon Muş Alparslan University Journal of Social Sciences. 2018; 6(STEMES'18) 63-71. https://doi.org/ 10.18506/anemon.463839.
  • 24. Kim EA. Convergence study on stress, stress of clinical practice, coping, and psychological well-being in nursing students. Journal of The Korea Convergence Society. 2018; 9(3): 91-99. https://doi.org/10.15207/JKCS.2018.9.3.091
  • 25. Lee HY. Hwang J. Ball JG. Lee J. Yu Y. Albright D L. Mental health literacy affects mental health attitude: is there a gender difference? Am. J. Health Behav.2020; 44(3): 282–291. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.44.3.1
  • 26. Lauber C. Ajdacic-Gross V. Fritschi N. Stulz N. Rössler W. Mental health literacy in an educational elite–an online survey among university students. BMC Public Health. 2005; 5:44. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-5-44.
  • 27. Sand-Jecklin K. Murray B. Summers B. Watson J. 2010. Educating nursing students about health literacy: From the classroom to the patient bedside. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 2010; 15(3). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No03PPT02.
  • 28. Devraj R. Gupchup GV. Henson D. Mental health literacy of pharmacy students compared to nursing and medical students. Innovation in Pharmacy.2019; 10(4): 10.24926/iip.v10i4.2091. https://doi.org/10.24926/iip.v10i4.2091.
  • 29. Mardhiyah SA. Mental health literacy and psychological distress as predictors of psychological well-being in Sriwijaya University students. Mental Health: Global Challenges. 2021; 4(1): 49-60. https://doi.org/10.32437/mhgcj.v4i1.114
  • 30. Tay JL. Goh YSS. Sim K. Klainin-Yobas P. 2022. Impact of the HOPE intervention on mental health literacy, psychological well-being and stress levels amongst university undergraduates: A randomised controlled trial. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2022; 19: 9772. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159772.
There are 30 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Health Promotion, Family Medicine
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Meryem Öztürk Haney 0000-0002-7681-5391

Huri Yoğurtcu 0000-0001-9516-0581

Early Pub Date December 2, 2025
Publication Date December 3, 2025
Submission Date December 11, 2024
Acceptance Date September 25, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 19 Issue: 4

Cite

Vancouver Öztürk Haney M, Yoğurtcu H. Association between mental health literacy and psychological well-being among nursing students in Turkey: A multi-center cross-sectional study. TJFMPC. 2025;19(4):386-94.

English or Turkish manuscripts from authors with new knowledge to contribute to understanding and improving health and primary care are welcome. 


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