The relationship of emotional literacy and mental health promoting knowledge level with psychological help attitude in adolescents

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONAL LITERACY, MENTAL HEALTH-PROMOTING KNOWLEDGE LEVELS, AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SEEKING PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP AMONG ADOLESCENTS Aim: This study aims to examine the relationship between emotional literacy, mental health-promoting knowledge levels, and attitudes toward seeking psychological help among adolescents. Material and Method: The research, conducted as a descriptive and correlational study, included a sample of 428 students from Fatsa Anatolian High School in Fatsa district of Ordu province. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Emotional Literacy Scale (ELS), Mental Health-Promoting Knowledge Level Scale (MHPK), and Attitudes Toward Seeking Psychological Help Scale (ASPH-S). For data analysis, descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc tests (Tukey, LSD), Pearson correlation analysis, linear regression, and hierarchical regression analysis for mediation effect using Hayes' PROCESS Model 4 for SPSS (2013) were applied. The internal consistency of the scales was assessed using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: It was determined that 61.4% of the adolescents participating in the study were male, 38.6% were female, and 34.3% were 17 years old. It was found that 15% of the adolescents had previously received psychological support, with 57.8% of these participants receiving help from a psychologist and 31.2% from a psychiatrist. Among those who found the support beneficial, 39.1% described it as "very helpful."The mean total score for ELS was calculated as 59.29 ± 7.17, for MHPK as 3.92 ± 0.86, and for ASPH-S as 65.18 ± 10.92. Regression analysis showed that the impact of ELS on MHPK was significant, explaining 4.4% of the variance in MHPK. The direct effect of ELS on ASPH-Swas also found to be significant, with the model explaining 6.4% of the variance. The model, overall, was statistically significant. MHPK was identified to have a partial mediating role in the relationship between ELS and ASPH-S, with the total explanatory power of the model being 8.6%, indicating overall statistical significance. Conclusions: The study found that as adolescents' emotional literacy levels increase, their mental health-promoting knowledge levels also improve, leading to more positive attitudes toward seeking psychological help. It was determined that adolescents' mental health-promoting knowledge level supports a positive attitude toward seeking psychological help.