Date of Award

6-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Amber Nelson, Psy.D.

Second Advisor

Bill Buhrow, Psy.D.

Third Advisor

Kathleen Gathercoal, Ph.D.

Abstract

Mental health literacy is a term originally coined the in 1990s that refers to the recognition, prevention, and management of mental illness. Poor mental health literacy can delay or prevent treatment (Godfrey Born et al., 2019; Tay et al., 2018). Higher mental health literacy increases help-seeking behaviors, positive attitudes towards treatments, and improves health outcomes (Jorm, 2012; Rüsch et al., 2011). The current study aimed to explore the mental health literacy of university educators to support student mental health. The study used an electronic survey to collect demographic data, information related to teaching and mental health experience, and responses to the Multiple-Choice Knowledge of Mental Illness Test (MC-KOMIT). The survey was sent to George Fox University faculty. Results were analyzed with SPSS. Results showed that this sample of university educators had higher levels of mental health literacy than a norm group of police officers. Educators in behavioral science fields scored higher on average than faculty in other fields, however, only two of these results were statistically significant. The number of years faculty had been teaching was not related to mental health literacy. This study laid groundwork for future exploration and experimentation of mental health literacy in the context of university educators.

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