Pop Psychology Content Consumption, Attitude towards Mental Health and Self-Diagnosis among Senior High School Students in a Private College
Frenzy Calumno *
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Dainelle Anne Gabrielle Areño
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Jeny Rose Dilig
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Chloeie Jin Garrucho
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Ma. Charliza Granada
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Ruth Peñafiel
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Crishel Tutor
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Salvacion Teodosio
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
Arianne Leigh Segovia
College of Arts and Sciences, Iloilo Doctors' College, West Timawa, Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The increasing availability of pop psychology content on social media has raised questions about its relationship with adolescents’ attitudes towards mental health and self-diagnosis. This study examined pop psychology content consumption, attitudes towards mental health and self-diagnosis among senior high school students at a private college in Iloilo City. A quantitative, descriptive-correlational design was employed. Stratified random sampling yielded 285 respondents, comprising 152 Grade 11 and 133 Grade 12 students, who completed a validated, pilot-tested, researcher-developed questionnaire. Most respondents were female (72.6%), and smartphones were the predominant devices used (94.7%). The overall mean for pop psychology content consumption was 2.67 (SD = 0.73), with video-based material receiving the highest reported item score (M = 3.51, SD = 0.98). Attitudes towards mental health were highly positive (M = 4.22, SD = 0.62), while the mean self-diagnosis score was 2.66 (SD = 0.78). Content consumption showed weak positive correlations with attitudes towards mental health (Spearman’s rₛ = 0.343) and self-diagnosis (Pearson’s r = 0.294); both relationships were reported as statistically significant. These findings indicate associations between reported content consumption and the two outcomes, without establishing causality. Further research using additional data-collection methods could help clarify students’ interpretations of online mental health content.
Keywords: Pop psychology content, attitude, self-diagnosis, social media, adolescents