Assessment of knowledge of mental illness in a non-clinical population of tunisian students

Introduction Stigma, including beliefs about mental illness, can operate in different cultures in different ways, making Western theoretical bases considered “universal” on the stigmatization of theories not applicable to non-Western cultures; hence the need for international studies on this subject. Objectives This work aimed to assess knowledge of mental illness, available treatments and recovery in a non-clinical sample of Tunisian university students. Methods In a cross-sectional descriptive study from October 1 to November 30, 2019, we evaluated 714 students from 3 Tunisian public universities using the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule scale (MAKS). Results We found that 34.2% of students did not agree that drugs can be an effective treatment for people with mental health issues, while 76.4% agreed on the effectiveness of psychotherapy. In addition, 34.3% did not consider drug addiction as a mental illness and 21.9% did not consider depression as a mental illness. We objectified a significant correlation of the MAKS score with gender (p=0.019), living environment (p=0.001), high academic level of father (p=0.000) and mother (p=0.027) and presence of personal psychiatric history (p=0.013). Conclusions Awareness and information campaigns aimed at developing the general public’s knowledge of the scientific, medical and psychosocial causes of mental illness and the means of management should be established.