A systematic review of depression literacy: Knowledge, help-seeking and stigmatising attitudes among adolescents

Publication date: July 2019Source: Journal of Adolescence, Volume 74Author(s): Sarbhan Singh, Rafdzah Ahmad Zaki, Nik Daliana Nik FaridAbstractIntroductionDepression is a common mental health disorder and affects many adolescents worldwide. Depression literacy can improve mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was to collate and analyse the extant evidence on depression literacy among adolescents, with particular focus on tools used to examine depression literacy and the findings on components of depression literacy.MethodsNine electronic databases and 1 grey literature source were searched for studies published in English between January 2006 and December 2018 and involving adolescents aged 10–19 years. We included studies that reported on components of depression literacy such as knowledge, help-seeking and stigmatising attitudes. We excluded qualitative studies. Two independent reviewers verified that the studies met the inclusion criteria, assessed the quality of the studies and extracted their characteristics. The data were descriptively analysed and appraised using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), Cochrane Collaboration's tool and the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (QATSQ).Results and conclusionFifty of the 14,626 references identified met the inclusion criteria. Depression literacy was most commonly (58%) assessed using tools that utilize a vignette-based methodology. A lack of uniformity in reporting of depression literacy was noted. Adoles...
Source: Journal of Adolescence - Category: Child Development Source Type: research