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The concept of mental health literacy was derived from health literacy, which aims to increase patient knowledge about physical health, illnesses, and treatments.

Framework
Mental health literacy is comprised of three major components: recognition, knowledge, and attitudes. A conceptual framework of mental health literacy illustrates the connections between components, and each is conceptualized as an area to target for measurement or intervention. While some researchers have focused on a single component, others have focused on multiple and/or the connection between components. For example, a researcher may focus solely on improving recognition of disorders through an education program, whereas another researcher may focus on integrating all three components into one program.

Recognition
Recognition can be broken down into symptom or illness recognition. Symptom recognition is the ability to detect beliefs, behaviors, and other physical manifestations of mental illness, without knowing explicitly which disorder they link to. Specific illness recognition is the ability to identify the presentation of a disorder, such as major depressive disorder.

Knowledge
Knowledge is the largest component of mental health literacy, and is divided into four sub-components:
 * Where/how to get information: the networks and systems individuals use to get information about mental disorders. This may include friends, family, educators, or broader sources, such as entertainment or social media.
 * Risk factors: what factors put individuals at greatest risk for specific mental health disorders. Risk factors can be biological, environmental,
 * Causes of mental disorders
 * Self-treatment or self-help: what individuals can do to help themselves recover without consulting with professionals, including the use of self-help books and media.
 * Professional help: where to get professional help and/or what professional help is available.

Attitudes
Attitudes are studied in two sub-components: attitudes about mental disorders, or persons with mental disorders, and attitudes about seeking professional help or treatment. Attitudes can vary greatly by individual, and can often be difficult to measure or target with intervention. Nonetheless, a large body of research literature exists on both sub-components, though not always explicitly tied to the mental health literacy.

Knowledge vs. Attitudes
The differentiation between knowledge and attitudes is a crucial part of the mental health literacy framework. While some efforts have focused on promoting knowledge, other researchers have argued that changing attitudes by reducing stigma is a more prolific way of creating meaningful change in mental healthcare utilization. Overall, both approaches have benefits for improving outcomes.

Measuring Mental Health Literacy
Researchers have measured aspects of mental health literacy in several ways. Popular methodologies include vignette studies and achievement tests. Vignette studies measure mental health literacy by providing a brief, detailed story of an individual (or individuals) with a mental health problem, and asks participants questions to identify what problem the individual is experiencing, and at times, additional questions about what the individual can help themselves. Achievement tests measure mental health literacy on a continuum, such that higher scores on a test indicate greater overall knowledge or understanding of a concept. Achievement tests can be formatted using multiple-choice, true/false, or other quantitative scales.

Various scales have been created to measure the different components that comprise mental health literacy, though not all are validated.

Mental health literacy has been measured across several populations, varying in age range, culture, and profession. Most studies have focused on adult and young adult populations, though improving literacy in children has been a focus of prevention efforts.