Indonesian adolescents increasingly rely on digital platforms as their main source for mental health information due to widespread internet access; consequently, digital health literacy is crucial to mitigate misinformation risks. The connection between digital health literacy and adolescents' mental health information-seeking behavior was analyzed in this study, which focused on those living in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. They hypothesized a positive association. A quantitative observational analytic cross-sectional design was employed for this study, which took place in May 2026. Multistage random sampling was used to select 162 students aged 15–18 from public and private senior high schools to participate. The Indonesian eHealth Literacy Scale (I-eHEALS) was used to assess their digital health literacy. A Health Information-Seeking Behavior instrument, comprising five domains, was used to measure information-seeking behavior. Supervised online questionnaires facilitated data collection, and Spearman's rank correlation was applied for analysis. Data revealed a mean digital health literacy score of 28.74 (SD 5.12) and a mean information-seeking behavior score of 68.31 (SD 11.47), showing a significant positive moderate correlation (ρ = 0.46, p < 0.001). This finding indicates that higher digital health literacy was associated with more directed searching, selective source choices, improved credibility evaluation, and constructive information use. The integration of critical digital health literacy into current school-based mental health programs is suggested by these findings for local health and education authorities. Digital health literacy significantly determines how adolescents seek information about mental health. Future longitudinal studies need to include more factors and validate instruments.
Copyrights © 2026