O-14 Adolescents in Eleuthera, The Bahamas: Help-seeking Intentions and Mental Health Literacy of Depression and Anxiety

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, using single stage cluster sampling of adolescent students in grades 8 to 10 enrolled in public high schools in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. Once parental consent and youth assent were given, participants completed a 48-item structured facilitator-assisted questionnaire adapted from the Friend in Need Questionnaire and the Australian Mental Health Literacy Youth Survey, which consisted of vignettes meeting DSM-5 criteria for social anxiety disorder and depression followed by a series of questions to elicit recognition of the disorders and help-seeking intentions. Statistical analyses using descriptive and inferential statistics were performed, and the association and differences with respect to sex; and binary logistic regression was used to predict help-seeking.

Results: The sample consisted of 98 students (M 43, F 55) out of a total of 173 students with a response rate of 56.5%, in which 91.8% correctly identified anxiety and 75% correctly identified depression. Participants showed more concern regarding depression. Adolescents were more likely to suggest a therapist or counsellor as source of help for their distressed peers. Adequate mental health literacy was 48% for anxiety and 44.9% for depression. Girls displayed more concern, estimated longer times to recovery and had overall better mental health literacy than males.

Conclusions: Barriers to understanding the impact of mental health on daily functioning and limited access to care hinder adequate mental health literacy. There is a need for health promotion interventions to improve mental health literacy in adolescents, and for increased availability of school-based and community mental health professionals.