counterproductive, as it leads the person to isolation and
not sharing problems and may increase their distress.
Mental health professionals generally do not see either
of these strategies as likely to be helpful [22].
Concerning the last component of mental health
literacy, knowledge of how to prevent mental disorders,
adolescents and young people have a clear belief that is
possible to prevent mental illness [23], specifically by
avoiding situations that might be stressful, promoting
activities such as regular contact with friends and family,
and not using drugs. Mental health professionals also
endorse the maintenance of regular contact with friends
and family, and not using drugs and alcohol, as preventive
strategies for mental disorders [23]. However, they
consider that avoiding stressful situations could be
harmful for young people, leading to the development
of anxiety disorders [23].
Concerning physical activity, the findings were consistent
for its use as a self-help strategy as well as for
prevention, with a significant percentage not knowing
whether it is likely to be helpful in both instances.
This is of concern, because mental health professionals also
recommend physical activity as a strategy for preventing
depression [23].
At the same time, the religious and spiritual beliefs
that are presented in the literature as a protective
mechanism against suicidal thoughts were not seen as
preventive by the majority of young people in this
study (82.5%).
Conclusion
The results from this descriptive study suggest the need to
develop programs aimed at increasing all the components
of mental health literacy. Adolescence and youth are very
important periods for acquiring knowledge and adopting
behaviors that are transferred into adult life.
Different programs for youth, like the Portuguese
webprogram “Feliz Mente” (http://felizmente.esenfc.pt),
should be widely disseminated in schools in order to
increase mental health literacy in young people. Schools
are important settings for such intervention programs,
because it is where teenagers and young people spend
most of their time.
These programs should also target adults who work
with adolescents and young people. An example is the
program Youth Mental Health First Aid [1,3] which
trains parents, teachers, school workers and primary
care nurses in how to assist adolescents developing a
mental health problem or in a mental health crisis
situation. Education professionals need to be empowered
to act, because they are important persons in students’
lives. They spend much time with young people and
should therefore be able to recognize the first signs and
symptoms and give first aid and suppo