Characterize the mental health literacy of adolescents and young people about alcohol abuse, in the various components of the concept.
Exploratory descriptive study, through the application of the instrument QuALiSMental to a representative sample of 4938 adolescents and young adults aged between 14 and 24 years, attending schools in the 3rd cycle of basic and secondary education of the central region of Portugal.
The recognition of the vignette of alcohol abuse by the participants is high (72.4%), although it is also identified as alcoholism (70.3%), which indicates the perception of the problem as serious. Participants have modest levels of literacy in the remaining components, preferring informal sources of help.
Therefore, we conclude that there is a need to implement school programs that promote mental health literacy, to promote the adoption of healthy behaviors in young people, which transfer them into adulthood.
Mental health; Health Education; Alcoholism; Adolescent