Perceptions, Knowledge, and Attitude Toward Mental Health Disorders and Their Treatment Among Students in an Indonesian University

PURPOSE: To identify perception, knowledge, and attitudes toward mental health disorders and their treatment among students in a university in West Java, Indonesia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study which measures perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of 427 university students using convenience sampling through a 53-item self-administered questionnaire was conducted in January 2020. Either a chi-square test or the Kruskal–Wallis test was employed to analyze the association between student characteristics and variables. Furthermore, Spearman rank correlation coefficient was utilized to evaluate the relationship between variables. RESULTS: A total of 51.29% students had negative perceptions, 50.23% had good knowledge, and 52.46% had positive attitudes toward mental disorders and their treatment. The differences in the experience of visiting a psychologist or psychiatrist were associated with perceptions (P<0.01), knowledge (P<0.01), and attitudes (P<0.01). A positive correlation was observed between perception and attitude (r=0.56; P<0.01) and between knowledge and attitude (r=0.24; P<0.01). The students obtained most information about mental health from social media (92.74%). CONCLUSION: Students demonstrated good knowledge and positive attitude toward mental health disorders. However, some continue to hold negative perceptions regarding approaching someone with a mental disorder, encouraging doubt and fear. Health promotion about mental health disorders and their treatment must be conducted to increase positive perceptions, good knowledge, and positive attitudes of the students. Social media tools can be considered to enhance mental health promotion and prevention of mental health problems.