The Relationship Between Mental Health Literacy, Overall Adaptation and Mental Health of University Freshers.

BACKGROUND: Entering university is a big change in life. It can cause a lot of stress for new students. Stress can affect their mental health in a negative way. Mental health literacy is the knowledge and skills to deal with mental health issues. It can help new students cope better with stress and improve their mental health.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of mental health literacy, overall adaptation, and mental health of university freshers, and to explore the influence of mental health literacy on the overall adaptation and mental health, as well as the mediating role of overall adaptation.

METHODS: The undergraduate freshers of 2022 from a comprehensive university in Henan Province were selected as the research participants using a cluster sampling method and were investigated by the general information questionnaire, mental health literacy scale (MHLS), the university student overall adaptation questionnaire (CSOAQ) and university personality inventory (UPI).

RESULTS: (1) The detection rate of mental health problems among freshers was 22.39%, and the mental health literacy (112.26 ± 9.66), overall adaptation (3.93 ± 0.93), mental health (10.90 ± 10.51) of freshers had significant differences in demographic variables. (2) Mental health literacy was significantly positively correlated with overall adaptation and mental health, and overall adaptation was significantly positively correlated with mental health. (3) Overall adaptation plays a mediating role in the impact of mental health literacy on mental health. (4) Gender plays a moderating role in the effects of overall adaptation on mental health.

CONCLUSION: The mental health literacy of university freshers could not only directly predict their mental health but also indirectly affect their mental health through overall adaptation, which is more significant among women.