Mental health literacy and happiness among university students: a social work perspective to promoting well-being

The present study tried to assess university students’ mental health literacy (MHL) and happiness levels and whether a relationship existed between these. The study used a descriptive quantitative methodology, utilizing Likert-type scales to collect data. A private university in Istanbul’s Faculty of Health Sciences had a sample of 443 students. Information was collected using a Personal Data Collection PR Form, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Short Form (OHQ-SF), and the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS). Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. The participants’ mean MHLS score was 23.00 ± 4.70, and the OHQ-SF score was 23.50 ± 4.70. We detected a significant difference in the MHL subscale owing to age, gender, department, class, maternal education, maternal employment status, income level, academic success, family attitude, smoking status, and exercise status. There were also differences in OHQSF scores by students’ department, class level, mother’s education level, father’s income level, academic success status, resident status, family attitude type smoking status, health perception of chronic illness, family history of chronic illness, exercise habit, nutritional status psychological problems, and family mental illness history. Knowledge-oriented and belief-oriented MHL subscales were weak but significantly negatively related, according to the findings. A weak correlation but a significant one was found for subscale Resource-Oriented MHL with happiness level and MHL Total. According to the above-stated research, people who can access mental health resources are more likely to be happy. These findings highlight how making mental health resources available could improve people’s mental well-being with a prolonged social work perspective. As happiness is a primary goal of life, more research contributing to our understanding of it is essential. The mental health literacy indicators for university students relate to realizing happiness and fostering well-being.