Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Dec;43(12):1203-7.
doi: 10.1097/01.mlr.0000185733.30697.f6.

Beliefs about antidepressant medications in primary care patients: relationship to self-reported adherence

Charlotte Brown  1 , Deena R Battista, Richard Bruehlman, Susan S Sereika, Michael E Thase, Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacob
Affiliations

Beliefs about antidepressant medications in primary care patients: relationship to self-reported adherence

Charlotte Brown et al. Med Care. 2005 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Adherence to medication is unacceptably low in both medical and psychiatric disorders. Explanatory models of illness beliefs and behaviors suggest that an individual's beliefs about a disorder and its treatment will influence their adherence. Given that beliefs about medications may influence adherence to antidepressants, we examined beliefs about medications in relation to antidepressant adherence in a primary care sample.

Objective: The purpose of this report is to 1) describe beliefs about medication in primary care patients prescribed antidepressants for depression; 2) examine the factor structure of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) and compare it with the previously reported factor structure of the BMQ in medical conditions; and 3) examine the association of medication beliefs with self-reported medication adherence.

Results: Factor analysis indicates that the BMQ is valid in a sample of primary care patients receiving treatment for depression and has a similar factor structure to that obtained in samples of patients with chronic medical conditions. Beliefs about medications are significantly associated with self-reported adherence. Severity of depressive symptoms and specific concerns about antidepressants are significantly associated with self-reported medication-taking behavior. Findings suggest that in addition to telling patients how to take their medications, primary care physicians should also educate patients about the short- and long-term effects of the medication, how the medication works, and that antidepressants are not addictive.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources