Lyckligt vetandes eller olyckligt ovetandes: en undersökning om unga svenskar mental health literacy om depression, ångest, schizofreni och bipolär sjukdom

Sammanfattning: Mental health literacy (MHL) is a research area in psychology that assesses the public's knowledge about mental illnesses and represents an essential step in mental health prevention, destigmatisation and help-seeking promotion. This study measured the MHL of four common mental health disorders – depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder – among young adults in Sweden (N=46) and compared the results with previous studies from around the world. Additionally, the study collected data about the lived experience of the disorders and gender to see if and how these variables influence MHL. The results indicated that young adults in Sweden in this sample had relatively high MHL compared to other parts of the world. There were no significant differences between those who had lived experience of the diagnosis and those who did not. For three out of four disorders – depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia – women displayed significantly higher MHL. Future studies should continue exploring different factors that influence MHL and investigate why some groups score higher than others.