Mental Health Literacy and Stigma of Australian Social Work Students: Depression and Suicidal Ideation
Keywords:
Attitudes and Beliefs, Knowledge and Skills, Stigma, Social Work Education, Mental Health, Mental Health LiteracyAbstract
This article presents the findings of a study of mental health literacy and stigma of Australian social work students. The aim of the study was to identify levels of knowledge and attitudes and beliefs prior to, and following, course content on mental health literacy. The outcome of this study indicates an increase in knowledge development and reduced rates of stigma following mental health literacy studies. Even though relatively low rates of stigma were recorded amongst these social work students, the study findings do raise the question of what level of stigma, if any, is acceptable within social work education. This has broader implications for service delivery as stigmatising attitudes and beliefs of students and workers might cause harm and deter people from accessing mental health services.
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