Impact of the HOPE Intervention on Mental Health Literacy, Psychological Well-Being and Stress Levels amongst University Undergraduates: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Jing Ling Tay (), Yong Shian Shawn Goh, Kang Sim and Piyanee Klainin-Yobas
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Jing Ling Tay: West Region, Institute of Mental Health, Buangkok Green Medical Park, 10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Yong Shian Shawn Goh: Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yoo Loo Lin School of Medicine, 2 National University of Singapore Level 2, Clinical Research Centre, Block MD11, 10 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore
Kang Sim: West Region, Institute of Mental Health, Buangkok Green Medical Park, 10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Piyanee Klainin-Yobas: Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yoo Loo Lin School of Medicine, 2 National University of Singapore Level 2, Clinical Research Centre, Block MD11, 10 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: Mental health literacy (MHL) promotes mental health among youths. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the newly developed HOPE intervention in improving depression literacy, anxiety literacy, psychological well-being, and reducing personal stigma and stress levels amongst young adults at a university in Singapore. After two pilot studies, we conducted a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and recruited 174 participants aged 18–24 years old through social media platforms. The HOPE intervention group received four online sessions over two weeks and the control group received online inspirational quotes. Study outcomes were measured with self-reported questionnaires and they were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and two-month follow-up (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04266119). Compared with the control arm, the intervention group was associated with increased depression and anxiety literacy levels at post-intervention and two-month follow-up. In addition, personal stigma for depression was reduced at the post-intervention juncture. However, there were no statistically significant changes in the ratings of psychological well-being and stress levels between the two groups. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to replicate and extend the extant findings.

Keywords: mental health literacy; university students; depression literacy; anxiety literacy; stress; psychological well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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