Knowledge, attitudes and practice among high school teachers toward students with mental disorders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Authors

  • Sulaiman A. Alshammari Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Shuliweeh Alenezi Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Abdullah Alanzan Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Ahmed AlHawamdeh Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Omar Alsulaiman Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Nawaf Alqarni Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Saad Aldraihem Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Nasser Alsunbul Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20221824

Keywords:

Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, School teachers, Mental disorders

Abstract

Background: Mental disorders are highly prevalent among adolescents, and they correlate negatively with students’ achievement, performance, and leadless school engagement and participation. School Teachers can contribute significantly to the early detection and intervention strategies for mental disorders among adolescents. This study estimates high school teachers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward mental disorders and determines the association between selected demographic factors.

Methods: The ethical committee of King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, approved this cross-sectional study. Multistage random sampling was done, which included 62 male and 48 female high schools in Riyadh between August and December 2021. An Anonymous self-administered questionnaire consisting of 39-item was used for data collection.

Results: A total 487 responses were received from the high school teachers, on a scale of 10 maximum score, only (60.4%) showed adequate knowledge regarding mental disorders. Even though, Majority of teachers (76.2%) show a favorable attitude toward mental disorders on a scale of 24 maximum scores. Furthermore, approximately one-third of study participants (34.4%) on a scale of 4 points maximum show good practice toward mental disorders.     

Conclusions: This study revealed teachers’ lack of knowledge about mental disorders with poor practice. Even though school teachers have shown favourable attitudes in most aspects toward mental disorders, implantation of the mental health literacy program is recommended to enhance the essential role of school staff in providing the needed support for promoting student mental health.

Author Biography

Sulaiman A. Alshammari, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City,King Saud University, Riyadh,  Saudi Arabia

Prof. Sulaiman A. AlShammari 

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Published

2022-07-27

How to Cite

Alshammari, S. A., Alenezi, S., Alanzan, A., AlHawamdeh, A., Alsulaiman, O., Alqarni, N., Aldraihem, S., & Alsunbul, N. (2022). Knowledge, attitudes and practice among high school teachers toward students with mental disorders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 10(8), 1582–1589. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20221824

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Section

Original Research Articles