The ability of mental health literacy to predict help-seeking and mental wellbeing in Australian animal care professionals

The disproportionately high prevalence of poor mental health and wellbeing outcomes in the animal care profession, including increased presentations of anxiety and depression and a high standardised mortality rate for suicide, suggests a need to better identify potential predictive and preventative factors associated with beneficial outcomes. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the relationships between mental health literacy and help?seeking intention, help-seeking behaviour, and wellbeing; and to assess if, in line with the Theory of Planned Behaviour, help-seeking intention mediated the relationship between mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviour. It was hypothesised that: (H1) mental health literacy would have a weak positive relationship with help-seeking intention; (H2) a weak positive relationship with help-seeking behaviour; and (H3) a weak positive relationship with wellbeing; (H4) help-seeking intention would have a weak positive relationship with help-seeking behaviour; (H5) help-seeking behaviour would have a weak positive relationship with wellbeing; and finally, (H6) help-seeking intention would mediate the relationship between mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviour. The sample included 134 Australian animal care professionals, that completed an online survey battery assessing the above-named variables. Main findings indicated that mental health literacy had a significant positive moderate association with help-seeking behaviour, with all other hypothesised relationships non-significant. Findings showed that mental health literacy has a potential role to play in helping to improve help-seeking and mental wellbeing for animal care professionals.