Mental Health Literacy in Veterans: What Do US Military Veterans Know About PTSD and Its Treatment?

Impact Statement This study examined post 9/11 veterans' PTSD specific mental health literacy. Results indicated high rates of knowledge regarding PTSD symptoms and diagnosis, and lower levels of knowledge about evidence-based treatments and self-help strategies. In addition, mental health literacy was inversely associated with negative beliefs about mental health problems and treatments, but not significantly related to other dimensions of stigma. This study highlights potential targets for mental health literacy interventions and points to the value of additional research on the role of mental health literacy in veterans' treatment seeking. Given military veterans' underutilization of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, it is important to explore factors that may facilitate or stand in the way of treatment seeking for this population. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial examination of military veterans' mental health literacy as it relates to PTSD and its treatment. One-hundred and 32 post-9/11 veterans were recruited for this web-based study. A vignette-based approach was employed to examine veterans' mental health literacy and relationships between mental health literacy and dimensions of stigma. Consistent with hypotheses, results revealed relatively higher levels of PTSD problem recognition, and lower levels of knowledge about evidence-based treatments and self-help strategies within this veteran sample. Correlational results provided partial support for our hypotheses: Mental health literacy was inversely associated with negative beliefs about mental health problems and treatments, but not significantly related to other dimensions of stigma. This study highlights potential targets for mental health literacy interventions and points to the value of additional research on the role of mental health literacy in veterans' treatment seeking.