Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire: Investigating Psychometric Properties in Iranian Female Students

Mental Health Literacy (MHL) is an important factor in promoting mental health. Assessing this structure is required for early recognition and intervention in mental health problems. To date, there was no tool to assess it among Iranian adolescents, so this study was aimed at examining the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire (AMHLQ) among Iranian female students.

The study instrument was a Persian version of the AMHLQ prepared through a translation and back-translation process. In this cross-sectional study, 275 female students completed the AMHLQ, and the Adolescent Strengths, and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

Findings of content, construct validity tests, Cronbach's alpha, and split-half coefficient demonstrated that the AMHLQ had satisfactory validity and suitable reliability. The exploratory factor analysis showed four dimensions of the AMHLQ: (1) knowledge of mental health problems (α = 0.89); (2) erroneous beliefs/stereotypes (α = 0.89); (3) help-seeking and first aid skills (α = 0.86); and (4) self-help strategies (α = 0.74).

The findings showed that the tool was confirmed by questions and subscales, and this questionnaire was a valid and reliable tool in assessing level differences of MHL and in determining the impact of programs designed to improve MHL in Iranian female adolescents.