An exploration of mental health literacy among parents of school-aged children
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Date
2019
Authors
Davidson, Dylan
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Abstract
Mental health literacy (MHL) skills are critical for parents, as they are the most readily available to recognize symptoms of mental health problems in their children and subsequently direct them to mental health services. Limited research has measured MHL, or factors associated with MHL among parents, and there is an increasing need to engage parents in learning about child mental health. This research evaluated parents’ MHL skills for child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety, factors associated with their MHL, and their preferences for receiving information about each disorder. Parents of children ages 4-12 were recruited from family resource centres and community agencies to complete an online survey. They read one vignette depicting a child with ADHD or anxiety, were asked to identify the problem the child in the vignette was experiencing, and rated the helpfulness of potential help-seeking/treatment strategies. They also completed standardized measures of parental self-efficacy and parenting stress, and indicated their preferences for receiving information about child ADHD and anxiety. Results showed mild-to-moderate MHL for ADHD and anxiety, and no difference between these conditions in an ANCOVA adjusting for gender, mental health experience, and parenting experience. Stronger MHL was associated with female gender, having personal/friend/family experiences with mental health problems, and stronger parental self-efficacy. Parents demonstrated interest in receiving more information about child ADHD/anxiety and primarily indicated interest in receiving information through a health provider or in written format. Results will inform the development of an accessible MHL intervention for parents, to empower them in better recognizing and managing common child mental health problems.
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Keywords
Mental health literacy, Child mental health, Anxiety, ADHD, Information preferences, Knowledge mobilization, Parental self-efficacy, Parenting stress