The prevalence of mental disorders is greatest among young adults aged 16-24 years, an age at which many young people are enrolled in higher education. Despite this, research indicates that very few young people seek help for mental health problems. As gatekeepers, university teaching staff members are in a prominent position to be able to offer an initial point of contact for referral onto appropriate sources of professional help. Previous research has investigated mental health knowledge and stigma in secondary school teachers. However, little is known about attitudes towards students with mental health problems and the level of mental health literacy in university teaching staff. An anonymous online survey was sent via e-mail to academic teaching staff (n ~1370) at the Australian National University. A total of 224 teaching staff members completed the survey (16.4% response rate). Measures included demographic and professional information, experiences with student mental health, mental health literacy, and attitudes towards depression (stigma).

Published in: London International Conference on Education (LICE-2016)

• Date of Conference: 14-17 November 2016
• DOI: 10.2053/LICE.2016.0059
• ISBN: 978-1-908320-76-6
• Conference Location: Heathrow Windsor Marriott Hotel, UK