The Level of Anxiety in Those Participating in Premarital Counseling Classes and Its Relationship With Health Literacy

Anxiety is a natural response to risks and a warning sign. Health literacy as an accessible and dynamic tool can play a crucial role in mental health. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between anxiety and health literacy in those participating in premarital counseling classes in Mashhad.

The present research was a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted in 2019 on 400 individuals participating in premarital classes in comprehensive health centers in Mashhad. Of all men and women participating in premarital classes of Mashhad comprehensive health centers, 400 people were randomly selected from each center (relative to the number of people in each center in the last six months). Data collection tools were the Demographic Information Questionnaire, Beck Standard Anxiety Questionnaire, and Health Literacy Questionnaire for Iranian Adults (HELIA). Data were analyzed using SPSS v. 23 software by Man-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, correlation, and regression tests.

In this study, 38.8% of participants were male and 61.2% were female. The Mean±SD age of participants was 26.8±14.17 years, the Mean±SD age of men and women was 27.8±7.2 and 25.8±2.5 years, respectively. According to the Beck Anxiety Questionnaire, anxiety scores ranged from zero to 63 and the Mean±SD anxiety was 29.04±8.3. The Mean±SD anxiety of men was 27.7±7.8 and the Mean±SD anxiety of women was 29.8±8.5. The mean score of anxiety in women was higher than men. In general, about 35% of the participants in the study suffered from some degree of anxiety and there was a significant relationship between anxiety and health literacy of the participants (P>0.001). There was also a significant relationship between gender and anxiety, and there was a significant relationship between health literacy and education, but no significant relationship was observed in other variables.

Considering the importance of the role of health literacy in improving community health and controlling anxiety in the peace and stability of couples’ future lives, there is a need for planning to teach anxiety management in couples, especially women, given that men suffer more from anxiety than women.