'Mental health literacy': A survey of the public's ability to recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the public's recognition of mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of various treatments ('mental health literacy'). Design: A cross-sectional survey, in 1995, with structured interviews using vignettes of a person with either depression or schizophrenia. Participants: A representative national sample of 2031 individuals aged 18-74 years; 1010 participants were questioned about the depression vignette and 1021 about the schizophrenia vignette. Results: Most of the participants recognised the presence of some sort of mental disorder: 72% for the depression vignette (correctly labelled as depression by 39%) and 84% for the schizophrenia vignette (corre..