EXPLORATION OF TRIBAL YOUTH'S STATUS OF MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY AND THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARDS HELP SEEKING BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

In the modern world, issues relating to mental health are spreading rapidly throughout many segments of society. This situation is made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, which draws attention to the neglected area of mental health among all sections of society and government agencies at large. This highlights the significance of mental health literacy among the general population and their help-seeking behaviour, which includes the behaviour of intentionally communicating with people to seek help and also professional psychological services. The present research aims to investigate the status of mental health literacy and attitudes towards help-seeking among tribal youth. Further, the study aims to explore the relationship between mental health literacy and the attitude towards help-seeking behaviour among the tribal youth of Arunachal Pradesh. To measure the variable of the study, a quantitatively standardised psychological test named the Mental Health Literacy Scale developed by Matt O'Connor and Leanne Casey is used to assess mental health literacy, and the Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS) is used to assess the attitude towards help seeking behaviour of an individual. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was found to be 0.60 between the variables. The results of the study indicated a significant positive relationship between mental health literacy and attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour among the tribal youth. The implication of the findings is in the use of intervention strategies to be carried out at higher educational institutes for enhancing mental health literacy.