Psychosocial and socio-demographic correlates of medication compliance among people with schizophrenia

• Published in: Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 3 - 14
• Main Authors: Tsang, Hector W.H, Fung, Kelvin M.T, Corrigan, Patrick W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-03-2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use; Antipsychotic drugs; Attitude; Attitude to Health; Biological and medical sciences; Compliance; Demography; Female; Humans; Insight; Male; Medical sciences; Medication compliance; Middle Aged; Neuropharmacology; Patient Compliance; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychiatry; Psycholeptics: tranquillizer, neuroleptic; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Psychoses; Regression Analysis; Retrospective Studies; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - drug therapy; Schizophrenic Psychology; Self-stigma; Sociodemographic aspects; Stereotyping; Stigmatization; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Schizophrenia; Insight; Self-stigma; Attitude; Medication compliance; Human; Neuroleptic; Psychotropic; Stigma; Self; Psychosocial factor; Psychosis; Drug compliance; Sociodemographic factor
• ISSN: 0005-7916; 1873-7943
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2008.02.003

Abstract This study examined the medication compliance of people with schizophrenia in relation to their self-stigma, insight, attitude towards medication, and socio-demographic status via a cross-sectional observational design. Eighty-six Chinese adults with schizophrenia were recruited from the psychiatric hospitals and community settings for this study. The findings suggested that stereotype agreement of self-stigmatization and attitude towards medication were moderately correlated with medication compliance. Poor insight and living alone were found to be significant predictors of medication compliance based on regression analysis. Insight was identified to be the strongest predictor on compliance which accounted for 68.35% of the total variance. Although self-stigma is only moderately linked with medication compliance, its effects on medication-induced stigma cannot be ignored.