STUDENTS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESSES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SPLIT: CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the differences in knowledge about mental illnesses between students of health and non-health studies at the University of Split and to examine the differences in knowledge about mental illnesses considering the sex and age of participants.

Methods: The sample in this study consists of 280 students from the University of Split. The used measuring instrument is a newly constructed questionnaire composed of 20 questions about mental illnesses. The questionnaire is reliable for interpreting the results, the value of Cronbach's alpha is 0.74. Image data inclusion is a calculation of descriptive parameters as well as the use of a nonparametric Mann Whitney U test to determine differences by sex, age groups, and type of study. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University Department of Health Studies, University of Split.

Results: The results of the research indicate a low level of students' knowledge about mental illnesses. The total percentage of correct answers in the entire sample of participants is 58.4%. A significant difference was found among students of health and non-health studies for 6 out of a total of 20 particles. Students know more about addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder than about schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. A significant difference in students' knowledge considering the sex and age of the participants was not found.

Conclusions: Although the students of health studies have a higher level of knowledge about mental illnesses than students of non-health studies, there is undoubtedly room for improvement in understanding the symptoms of mental illness in the observed group. This indicates the need to popularize the mentioned area within the framework of scientific research communities in order to educate the public about mental illnesses and thus enable patients to have a better standard of living.