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Saliah Hussain is a PhD student in Psychology at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ. She completed her BSc in Psychology from Nottingham Trent University and MSc in Health Psychology from the University of Nottingham. Her PhD thesis examines the role of social media in the mental health literacy and help-seeking of British South Asian young adults via a mixed methods approach. One of the key aspects of her research is to understand how social media platforms, which are not specifically designed for mental health information can be adopted by individuals to improve their mental health literacy and hence, challenge their existing perceptions towards mental health.

Mary Seacole Research Centre (MSRC)

Ethnicity and mental health
Mental health literacy
Mental health promotion
Digital societies 
Role of digital media in mental health and wellbeing
Mixed-methods research 
Visual research methods

MSc Health Psychology, University of Nottingham
BSc Psychology, Nottingham Trent University

Title

The role of social media in the mental health literacy and help-seeking of British South Asian young adults: A mixed methods approach

Abstract

The role of mental health literacy (MHL) in access to care among BSA (British South Asian) young adults (18 – 24) is huge and indicates the need for research to understand the factors impacting MHL and what can be done to improve MHL among this group. While interventions focusing on improving MHL among BSA young adults are relatively important, prior to this it is imperative to understand the effectiveness of the sources young people access mental-health related information from. Considering the ubiquitous nature of social media, exploring the role of social media in individual’s knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards mental health is central within this research. Evidence from research exploring social media has often provided risk-derived narratives and has focused on the what/why of social media usage. Of greater importance is whether individuals can learn from social media and what the mechanisms of learning on social media are in relation to mental health. 

Previous research by Goodyear et al (2017) has explored this within the context of health-related content, however research exploring mental health literacy and social media has not been conducted before. With the growth in social media usage among the young population, an opportunity for mental health promotion has opened up. The present research will aim to explore the role of social media as a learning and actionable resource for mental health, improving MHL and consequently help-seeking behaviour among BSA young adults. 

Professor Raghu Raghavan and Dr Indrani Lahiri