Recognition of mental health problems and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help in nursing students

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to survey nursing students’ ability of identifying mental health problems and their attitude toward seeking professional help; and to examine differences in attitude toward seeking professional help according to the ability of identifying mental health problems. Data collected from 301 nursing students from October to November 2012 were analyzed with descriptive statistics and independent t-test using the SPSS WIN 22.0 program. Of the 301 subjects, 39 (13.0%) could identify schizophrenia, 140 (46.5%) could identify depression, and 104 (34.6%) could identify post-trauma tic stress disorder. Those who could identify schizophrenia (t = 2.164, p = 0.031) and post-traumatic stress disorder (t = 3.354, p = 0.001) had a more positive attitude toward seeking professional help. However, no difference was obseived in the attitude toward seeking professional help between those who could and could not identify depressive symptoms. These findings could help in designing nursing education to enhance nurses’ mental health literacy. This study also sugge sts that it is necessary to develop strategies to promote integrated thinking by applying theoretical knowledge to real situations in nursing education. © 2016 SERSC.