Psychological distress and mental health literacy in university students.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess university students' levels of psychological distress and mental health literacy.

DESIGN AND

METHODS

This descriptive and cross-sectional study using self-assessment instruments with 417 volunteer university students was conducted in the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year.

FINDINGS: More than half of the participants had diagnosable psychological distress in terms of mental illness. The participants had a low level of mental health literacy, females and people with a mental illness had higher mental health literacy scores.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The results indicated that the scales could be used to develop interventions to assist Turkish students' transition to healthy adulthood. Determining individuals' psychological distress allows early detection of mental problems.