Psychological well-being in adolescents: Perceived social support and mental health literacy

In this study, the relationships between adolescents' psychological well-being, perceived social support and mental health literacy were examined. At the same time, adolescents' psychological well-being, perceived social support and mental health literacy were examined according to some demographic variables (age, gender, grade level, income level, mother and father education level, marital status of parents, whether they receive psychological support or not, whether they have psychological disorders or not). The sample of the study, which was conducted using a correlational survey design from quantitative methods, consists of 535 high school students aged 14-17, selected using an appropriate sampling method. Personal information form, Stirling Emotional and Psychological Well-Being Scale for Children, Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS-R) and Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Scale were used to collect the data and Independent Sample t Test, One-Way ANOVA Test, Pearson Correlation Coefficients Test and Multiple Regression Analysis were used to analyze the data obtained from the study. As a result of the analyzes, it was determined that adolescents' psychological well-being levels were medium, perceived social support and mental health literacy levels were high, and mental health literacy levels differed significantly according to gender; perceived social support levels differed significantly according to age, gender and whether they had psychological disorders; and psychological well-being levels differed significantly according to gender, income level, whether they received psychological support and whether they had psychological disorders. There is a moderate positive significant relationship between adolescents' perceived social support levels and psychological well-being, a low positive significant relationship between mental health literacy levels and psychological well-being levels, and a moderate positive significant relationship between perceived social support levels and mental health literacy levels. In the regression analysis, perceived social support was a predictor of psychological well being, while mental health literacy was not a predictor of psychological well-being. The results were discussed in comparison with the relevant literature and recommendations were presented accordingly. Keywords: Adolescent, Adolescence, Psychological well-being, Perceived social support, Mental health literacy