A short mental health literacy scale: validation and application in Brazil

To validate a version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, and evaluate the level of mental health literacy in a sample of the Brazilian population.

We applied the Brazilian Portuguese version of the MHLS to a sample of 472 adults. The questionnaires were self-reported by the participants in the presence of the researchers. We use nonparametric tests to compare literacy scores. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we tested the hypothesis of unidimensionality of the MHLS. The structure that best fit the version of the MHLS in Brazilian Portuguese was extracted through exploratory factor analysis.

The results showed that the model with a single-factor structure did not present a good fit. The Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of the MHLS displayed a four-factor structure, comprising 18 items. This version demonstrated satisfactory factor loadings and high levels of reliability. These characteristics suggest that the tool maintains internal consistency and reliability, and can be used to assess mental health literacy effectively. The average MHLS score of the sample was 123.01. The value of the score varies depending on gender, age, education, and the type of health service used.

The Brazilian adaptation of the MHLS has been effective in gauging mental health literacy levels among Brazilians. Future efforts to enhance mental health literacy should focus on middle-aged people with lower education levels who utilize public services.