Intentions and helpfulness beliefs about first aid responses for young people with mental disorders: Findings from two Australian national surveys of youth

Abstract

Background: Youths are important sources of first aid for people close to them who are experiencing mental health problems, but their skills are not optimal. A better understanding of predictors of young people's first aid intentions and beliefs will facilitate future efforts to improve their mental health first aid skills. Methods: Young people's first aid intentions and beliefs were assessed by a national telephone survey of 3746 Australian youth aged 12-25 years in 2006. A similar survey was repeated in 2011 with 3021 youths aged 15-25 years. In both surveys, youths were presented with a vignette portraying depression, psychosis, social phobia, or depression with alcohol misuse in a young..