TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tabas, Mohammad Azimi
AU  - Kazerani, Maryam
AU  - Shahbodaghi, Azam
AU  - Taherian, Reza
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/19
TI  - Investigating Mental Health Literacy and Its Relationship with Addiction to Social Networks among Allied Medical Sciences Students
JO  - OBM Neurobiology
SP  - 311
VL  - 09
IS  - 04
AB  - The widespread use of social media among college students has become a significant concern due to its potential impact on mental health and addictive behaviors. Social media platforms, while offering numerous benefits, can also foster environments that contribute to addiction, depression, and anxiety. College students, in particular, are vulnerable to these effects due to their high levels of social media engagement and the pressures of academic life. Mental health literacy, which involves understanding and managing mental health issues, is crucial in mitigating these risks. By enhancing mental health literacy, individuals can better navigate the digital landscape, making informed decisions about their social media use and reducing the likelihood of addiction. This study examines the relationship between mental health literacy and social network addiction among allied medical sciences students. This is a cross-sectional study. The statistical population consists of all students of the School of Allied Medical Sciences (n = 606), with a sample of 177 participants. Stratified random sampling by gender and educational level was used to select participants, with a minimum sample size of 120 individuals determined using GPower 3.1.9.7. There are two research questionnaires: 1) Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire which has four dimensions: (D1) Awareness of mental health problems, (D2) Incorrect beliefs about mental health problems, (D3) Help-seeking, (D4) Self-help strategies. 2) Addiction to Social Networks Questionnaire. This questionnaire was classified into four factors: (F1) Individual performance, (F2) Time management, (F3) Self-control, and (F4) Social communication, with a prediction capability of 57.470. The internal reliability coefficient was α = 0.92. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16. The findings revealed that the overall average mental health literacy score among students was 92.07 ± 16.89 (out of 145), indicating moderate mental health literacy. The overall average score of addiction to social networks was also 63.96 ± 19.22 (out of 115), which is in the category of regular users. Among demographic variables, marital status, income, and educational level were associated with mental health literacy and addiction to social networks. Hypothesis testing revealed a significant negative relationship between mental health literacy and addiction to social networks. The findings indicate that while students exhibit a moderate level of mental health literacy, this knowledge is inversely related to their addiction to social networks. Enhancing mental health literacy emerges as a vital strategy for empowering students to make informed decisions regarding their social media use, thereby reducing the risk of addiction and its associated mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. The study advocates targeted interventions aimed at improving mental health literacy as a preventive measure against the adverse effects of excessive social media engagement, ultimately fostering healthier online behaviors among college students. Establishing facilities for benefiting from mental health literacy components, such as training classes, familiarity with web facilities in the field of mental health, identification of correct information in the web environment, and use of library educational platforms, may help prevent addiction to social networks.
SN  - 2573-4407
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2504311
DO  - 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2504311
ID  - Tabas2025
ER  -