Population-level mental health literacy: A vignette-based study on prejudice, sexism, and recognition in prevention strategies for social anxiety in Ghana

Mental Health and Prevention. 2025. Vol. 37. Article 200406.

Adu P., Григорьев Д. С., Holm Adzovie R., Mbinta J., Jarvisderic G. E., Юрчик Т.

Objective: Mental health literacy evidence on promoting mental health prevention at the population level in Ghana is limited. We explored factors, including, sociodemographic variables, prejudice, sexist attitudes, and previous experience of mental disorders, related to the endorsement of prevention strategies for social anxiety in Ghana.
Methods: A total of 601 individuals participated in an online vignette-based experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned to read two clinical vignettes, each presenting symptoms of social anxiety for a hypothetical person, one being male and the other female. Participants provided their impressions of the hypothetical person and completed self-reported measures, encompassing assessments related to ambivalent sexism, MHL, prejudice, and demographic factors.
Results: We found that recognition of the social anxiety in the vignettes directly associated with psychotherapeutic prevention strategies and indirectly predicted substance-related prevention strategies for social anxiety among the participants. Prejudice towards social anxiety was linked to increased recommendation of substance-related prevention strategies for social anxiety and less frequent endorsement of psychotherapeutic prevention strategies. Benevolence towards women positively associated stress-reduction preventive strategies for social anxiety, while benevolence towards men negatively impacted such strategies.
Conclusion: Findings underscore the significant role of Western views, and the harmful impact of prejudice on mental health, including the potential impact of cultural and contextual elements in shaping preventive approaches to mental disorders. Efforts to enhance mental health literacy aimed at improving population-level mental health outcomes should prioritize the development of compassionate and culturally inclusive responses to mental health distress while also working to reduce stigma.

Ключевые слова: Ghana, ambivalent sexism theory, hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, mental health literacy, social anxiety, prejudice, Mental Health Literacy (MHL)