Abstract
OBJECTIVES: to perform cross-cultural adaptation and content validity of the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS: a validity study developed according to the following stages: (1) assessment of conceptual and item equivalence; (2) idiomatic and semantic equivalence (translation, back-translation, formal assessment, critical analysis by 17 experts and pre-testing with 32 young adults, using the survey technique); (3) operational equivalence. RESULTS: important changes were made to ensure instrument validity. The Content Validity Index for the Brazilian context was 97.2% (feasibility) and 98.9% (relevance). The instrument proved to be understandable and easy to apply in pre-testing. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire, Brazilian version, contributes to assessing mental health literacy as well as to improving the quality of actions to promote, prevent and protect mental health in young people.