Associations Between Depression Literacy and the Use of Traditional and Digital Media Among Students of Moscow Universities

JOURNAL OF HEALTH LITERACY. 2026. Vol. 11. No. 2. P. 84–100.

Oxana Mikhaylova, Polina Katznelson, Daria Lukasheva

Background: Depression literacy refers to knowledge and beliefs that facilitate the recognition, management, and prevention of depression, and traditional versus digital media are key channels through which mental health information is accessed.

Aim: The study examined relationships between depression literacy and media consumption patterns among undergraduate students in Moscow universities.

Methods: In May 2022, a cross-sectional online survey of 420 undergraduate students at Moscow universities was conducted using convenience and snowball sampling. Depression literacy was assessed with a researcher-developed instrument grounded in the Mental Health Literacy framework and ICD-11 criteria. Kendall’s tau correlations were computed in RStudio with significance set at p<0.05.

Findings: Students demonstrated moderate depression literacy, with higher consumption of television and radio associated with greater literacy and higher use of social networks and messaging apps associated with lower literacy.

Conclusion: Differential associations between traditional and digital media consumption and depression literacy suggest tailoring mental health interventions to specific media channels and student populations.

Keywords: university students, media consumption, Social networks, Russia, Mental Health Literacy (MHL), Depression Literacy