Philippine E-Journals

Mental Health Literacy of the Employees and Students of the Mariano Marcos State University

Myra R. Lampitoc | Francis Clarence C. Chua | Marilou J. Raval

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

There has been an increasing incidence and severity of mental health disorders among university employees and students, as supported by the increasing reports on suicidal tendencies in Philippine universities. One overlooked factor in addressing mental health issues is the importance of mental health literacy (MHL). This study aimed to determine the MHL of MMSU employees and students. Also, to compare the MHL between students and employees and between teaching and non- teaching employees. Random sampling was done to select the respondents among the listed students, faculty, and staff of the university. The study utilized the Mental Health Literacy Scale tool adapted by Connor and Casey (2015) and Dias et al. (2018). Descriptive statistics analysis and t-tests were used to determine the MHL of participants. The results showed that the respondents' MHL is sufficient for all variables. All variables comparing students' and employees' MHL were statistically insignificant except for their knowledge of seeking mental health information. There was also no significant statistical difference in all the variables between teaching and non-teaching employees except for their ability to recognize a specific mental disorder. Ensuring complete MHL training and having adequate skills to respond appropriately to mental health problems may connect people to appropriate care in a university context.