Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology
VOL 15 NO 1 MARCH 2026

Mental Health Literacy, Access, and Service Utilization in Indonesia: A Study of Public and Psychologists' Perspectives

Zakariyya, Farhan (Unknown)
Reza , Alwin Muhammad (Unknown)
Maulida, Rini (Unknown)
Mudin, Muhammad Ilham (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Mar 2026

Abstract

Mental health disorders are a major public health challenge in Indonesia, yet overall services are underutilized. We surveyed 360 community members and 65 licensed psychologists to examine mental health literacy, access, and service utilization. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA tested demographic differences in three literacy dimensions: general awareness, treatment attitudes, and self-readiness. Under hypothetical norms, 97.5% met “high” awareness, but only 73.1% did so empirically; 66.4% showed moderate overall literacy, revealing persistent gaps between expected and observed performance. Literacy was higher among females (d = 0.576), postgraduates versus high school graduates (10.8%, η² = 0.034), and psychology versus business students (η² = 0.099). Personal or family exposure to mental health problems predicted higher literacy (d = 0.259–0.517). Access was rated moderate by 69.4%. Psychologists highlighted client-related difficulties, administrative burden, and skill limitations. Both groups cited cost, stigma, low awareness, and logistical barriers, indicating the need for coordinated individual- and system-level interventions.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

Psychology

Publisher

Subject

Education Public Health

Description

Journal of Educational, Health, and Community Psychology (JEHCP) published an article, and empirical study that have originality, novelty and fill the gap of knowledge, that focused on educational psychology, health psychology and community psychology. JEHCP is an open access peer reviewed, ...