Secondary School Teachers’ Disorder-Specific Mental Health Literacy About Depression, Anxiety, Early Psychosis and Suicide Risk: A Scoping Review
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Considering the high prevalence of adolescent depression and anxiety, the profound functional consequences of untreated early psychosis and suicide being the number one cause of death in Australia among 15-19-year-olds, ensuring that teachers are literate about these disorders should be a high priority. Teachers' disorder-specific literacy is a pragmatic response to healthcare system constraints. This scoping review aimed to map the evidence of teacher mental health literacy training programs, specifically for depression, anxiety, early psychosis and suicide risk. PRISMA-ScR guidelines were followed. Included studies were published in English between 2000 and 2024, focused on teachers working with students in Year 7-12 and measured teachers' knowledge of depression, anxiety, psychosis or suicide risk. Studies were appraised for quality. Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Nine evaluated knowledge of student depression, five evaluated knowledge of anxiety and five evaluated knowledge of psychosis, while nine studies focused on suicide risk. Providing disorder-specific training and evaluation, rather than general mental health literacy training, is recommended for future research. When healthcare systems lack the capacity to provide care for ill adolescents, schools often function as frontline sites for recognition and triage. Disorder-specific literacy is recommended for teachers so they can manage their real-world, health-system compensation role.
Source: Behavioral Sciences
DOI: 10.3390/bs16010115
Authors: Siann Bowman, Carol McKinstry, Linsey Howie
Institution: La Trobe University
Language: English
Subfield: Speech and Hearing
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,654
OpenAlex ID: W7124161739