As is known to all, mental illness can disrupt
an individual’s ability to relate to their family, friends, colleagues, and
broader community, leading to significant distress and disability. Postnatal depression (PND) is a mental health condition that
develops between one month and up to one year after the birth of a baby. It can
affect anyone. Although it’s more commonly reported by mothers, it can affect
any new parents—both moms and dads—and it can affect parents who adopt. Postpartum
depression is likely caused by many different factors that work together,
including family history, biology, personality, life experiences, and the
environment (especially sleep deprivation).
Mental health literacy is defined as “knowledge and beliefs about
mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention”. It has
received increasing attention as a useful strategy to promote early
identification of mental disorders, reduce stigma and enhance help-seeking
behaviors. However, mental health literacy for PND has not received much
attention or been widely measured in Australia. The present experimental study
examined mental health literacy of postnatal depression (PND) in an Australian
community sample.
Five hundred and
twenty Australians (427 females) participated in an experimental study. Participants’
ages ranged from 18 to 75 years old (M
= 33.73, SD = 9.55), with the
majority being female (85.4%, n =
427), parents (73.2%, n = 366), and
holding a university degree (54.6%, n
= 273). They were randomly presented with one of three vignettes describing a
“depressive” episode and then completed an online questionnaire examining
mental health literacy and the capacity to recognize PND and its risk factors
as well as the ability to source appropriate information. SPSS version 19 was used for statistical analyses.
Generally, the
ability to recognize PND and the overall mental health literacy of the sample
were high. Causation, however, was often misattributed to biological or
environmental/social factors. PND recognition was found to be significantly
affected by perception of the attachment relationship presented in two of the
vignettes. In short, perception of attachment impacts PND recognition and this
may negatively impact help-seeking behaviors.
Article by Einar
B. Thorsteinsson, et al, from University of New England, Armidale, Australia.
Full access: http://suo.im/58f4Rw
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