Publication: Validity of Mental Health Literacy Scales on Helping People at Risk of Depression among Thai Students in Health Science: Cross-Sectional Study
3
0
Issued Date
2024-02-01
Resource Type
ISSN
01252208
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85188776555
Journal Title
Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand
Volume
107
Issue
2
Start Page
75
End Page
83
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand Vol.107 No.2 (2024) , 75-83
Suggested Citation
Chuenphitthayavut K., Intarakamhang U., Jansem A., Tuntivivat S., Prasittichok P., Suwanwong C., Intarakamhang P. Validity of Mental Health Literacy Scales on Helping People at Risk of Depression among Thai Students in Health Science: Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand Vol.107 No.2 (2024) , 75-83. 83. doi:10.35755/jmedassocthai.2024.2.13941 Retrieved from: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14740/20424
Author's Affiliation
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Background: Mental health literacy (MHL) has garnered global attention as a crucial element in mitigating the risks associated with depression within communities and plays a pivotal role in shaping help-seeking behaviors. Objective: To develop an MHL and helping behavior (HB) scale while examining a causal relationship model of HB. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study designed by collecting 211 Thai health science students through stratified random sampling. The development process and quality assessment of the MHL and HB measures revealed five components by trying out 30 participants with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.811 to 0.901 and item-total correlations of 0.252 to 0.828. Data were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) utilizing LISREL version 8.72. Results: 1) CFA confirmed the construct validity of both measures with empirical data. The 15-item MHL scale achieved an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84 and factor loading between 0.35 and 0.85. Similarly, the 17-item HB scale achieved an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86 and factor loading between 0.30 and 0.79, and 2) results of the causal relationship model estimation demonstrated a significant positive direct influence of MHL on HB that MHL could predict HM by 67.00%. Conclusion: Both concise measurement scales exhibited good quality, making them viable options for use by healthcare professionals or educators in screening and assessing students’ abilities in aiding individuals at risk of depression.