Housewives' Mental Health Literacy and Attitudes Towards Psychological Services: A Türkiye Sample

Objective. This study aims to examine mental health literacy and attitudes toward seeking psychological help among housewives in Türkiye, and to evaluate how these vary across sociodemographic factors. Methods. The study conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional design and included 268 housewives. Data were collected using the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS), the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help–Short Form (ATSPPH-SF), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation analyses were used to evaluate the data. Results. The participants showed moderate levels of mental health literacy and neutral help-seeking attitudes. Higher levels of education, number of children, income, and family relationships significantly increased MHL and help-seeking attitudes. A surprising negative correlation was identified between MHL and help-seeking attitudes (r = –0.343, p < 0.01), contrary to expectations based on previous research. Conclusion. While education, income, and training were associated with higher MHL, these did not consistently predict positive help-seeking attitudes. The negative correlation suggests that increased awareness of mental health issues may coexist with greater stigma sensitivity or hesitance in traditional cultural contexts.