Effects of mental health literacy promoting program on mental health literacy and psychological distress in Thai secondary school students: A quasi-experimental study

Mental disorders are acknowledged as a public health concern that develops throughout adolescence. Implementing a mental health literacy program is essential for preventing these disorders. This quasi-experimental investigation evaluates the impacts of a mental health literacy promoting program (MHLPP) on mental health literacy and psychological distress in Thai secondary school students. A multi-stage, random sampling method was employed to select 66 students as participants at secondary schools in Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand, during the second semester of the 2023 academic year. These students were divided into an intervention group (n=33) and a control group (n=33) based on their classrooms. Data were gathered using a modified Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire and the Thai version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), with Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities of .75 and .94, respectively. The mean scores of mental health literacy and psychological distress between the two groups were compared using independent t-test and Mixed-model ANOVA. Results demonstrated that the intervention group had significantly higher mean mental health literacy scores and significantly lower mean psychological distress scores at both post-intervention and two-week follow-up stages compared to the control group. Moreover, the mental health literacy scores were significantly improved immediately after and two weeks after the program, compared with the baseline (pre-test). Psychological distress scores were also significantly elevated postintervention and two weeks follow-up compared with the baseline. These findings indicate that the MHLPP has the potential to enhance mental health literacy and alleviate psychological distress among secondary school students.