ArticleBMC public health2023
Association between psychological distress and mental help-seeking intentions in international students of national university of Singapore: a mediation analysis of mental health literacy.
Article in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Modifiable predictors of mental health literacy in the educational context: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2024Pooled it
- The Role of eHealth Literacy in Internet Gaming Disorder and Help-Seeking Among College Students.Western journal of nursing research · 2026Article
- Who knows where to find mental health help on campus? Structural, psychosocial and need-based predictors of knowledge of campus-based mental health services among post-secondary students.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- The influence of peer support on medical students' professional psychological help-seeking intention: the chain mediating role of professional psychological help-seeking stigma and self-efficacy.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- International university students' perspectives on mental health and help-seeking behaviours in China: An exploratory qualitative study.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among patients with colorectal cancer: A latent profile analysis.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2025Article
- Designing Culturally Adapted Digital Mental Health Support Tool for Chinese-Speaking International Students in Australia: A Qualitative Co-design Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- A short mental health literacy scale: validation and application in Brazil.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Students' Perceptions of Learning Analytics for Mental Health Support: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Article
- The effect of intervention based on adapted mental health literacy curriculum on attitude and help-seeking intention in high school students in Iran.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between Mental Health Literacy and Social Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study in China.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Mental health literacy for public employees.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Depression literacy, mental health literacy, and their relationship with psychological status and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundInternational students encounter a wide range of challenges that can have a significant impact on their mental health. Seeking help is one of the primary means of managing mental health, and more attention is required. This study aimed to investigate the psychological distress(PD), mental health literacy(MHL), and mental help-seeking intentions(MHSI) in international students of National University of Singapore(NUS), to explore the correlation between the three and to verify the mediating role of MHL in PD and MHSI.
methodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted between May and July 2023 using the Mental Help Seeking Intention Scale(MHSIS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7), and Mental Health Literacy Scale(MHLS). 281 international students(177 males, 104 females;) in NUS completed self-report questionnaires. SPSS 25.0 was applied to the data for descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis. Mediation analysis fully for all potential confounding factors were conducted.
resultsSignificant correlations were found between PD, MHL and MHSI. MHLS- knowledge of how to seek professional information(MHLS- H) completely mediated the association of anxiety with MHSI[B=-0.271; 95% confidence interval(CI): (-0.067, 0.0037)]; MHLS- attitude that promote recognition or appropriate help-seeking behavior(stigma)(MHLS- H) partially mediated the association of PD with MHSI[B = 0.104, 95% CI: (0.008, 0.179)]; with mediating effects accounting for 100% and 24.847% of the total effect. In addition, demographic variables such as gender, years in Singapore and residence type mediated both the direct and indirect effect of the mediation model.
conclusionsMHL mediated both the direct and indirect effects on the association between PD and MHSI, especially, the mediator of the MHLS- H and MHL-A. It means that MHSI in this population can be improved by increasing MHL and thus the PD. The findings suggest that, such as providing information about how to access to professional services and promoting disorder recognition to the international students, may help them develop their psychological well-being and good mental health care decisions.
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