Recognition of mental disorders among the Singapore general population: an 8-year comparison

The ability to correctly recognise an acute mental health problem is an important aspect of mental health literacy (MHL). It is also a pre-requisite for prompt help-seeking. In Singapore, the treatment gap for mental disorders is large, with close to 80% who had not received help. Since the first MHL survey in 2015, significant advances have been made to raise mental health awareness. Thus, this study aims to examine the changes in MHL 8 years after the first survey and identify current correlates of MHL.

A vignette approach was used to assess recognition of five conditions, major depressive disorder (MDD), alcohol abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia, and dementia. The analysis used data from participants who were randomly assigned one of these vignettes in the two Mind Matters nationwide surveys: 3,002 participants in 2023 and 3,006 participants in 2015. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine correlates of correct recognition in the 2023 sample.

Overall, recognition of the five conditions increased from 43.7 to 59.3%. Dementia, alcohol abuse and MDD remained the most recognised (≥ 65.4%). Recognition rates improved significantly for all the conditions except schizophrenia. The largest improvement was recorded for OCD with a 33.6% surge to 62.3%. Older age and lower education were associated with poorer dementia and schizophrenia recognition.

MHL in Singapore increased since the 2015 study. However, there are still persistently low levels of literacy in relation to schizophrenia recognition and especially among those who are older and with lower educational attainment. Future mental health literacy strategies could include schizophrenia-specific content and culturally appropriate outreach to address these gaps.

Not applicable.