title: Mental Health Literacy Among Undergraduate Students of a Saudi Tertiary Institution: A Cross-sectional Study.
abstract: The issue of mental health literacy has been widely studied in developed countries, with few studies conducted in Arab countries. In this study we aimed to investigate mental health literacy and attitudes towards psychiatric patients among students of Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A crosssectional study was conducted among undergraduate students using a validated Arabicversion questionnaire. A total of 557 students were recruited from different Jazan university colleges. The majority of students (90.3%) have intermediate mental health literacy. Regarding the etiology of mental illness, students agreed that genetic inheritance (45.8%), poor quality of life (65%) and social relationship weakness (73.1%) are the main causes of mental illness. The majority thought that mentally ill people are not capable of true friendships (52.5%) and that anyone can suffer from a mental illness (49.4%). Students' attitudes towards psychiatric patients were mixed, with 68.7% reporting that they could maintain a friendship with a mentally ill person and that people with mental illness should have the same rights as anyone else (82.5%). Mental health literacy among university students was intermediate. There is an urgent need for health educational programs to change the attitudes of students regarding this important health issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohamed S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mahfouz
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Centre, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulwahab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aqeeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; Medical Research Centre, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Anwar M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Makeen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ramzi M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hakami
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hatim H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Najmi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdullkarim T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Mobarki
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Haroobi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saeed M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Almalki
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mahnashi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University , Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Osayd A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Ageel
keywords: Jazan University; Mental health; Psychiatric patients