The impact of self-stigmatization on medication attitude in schizophrenia patients

Tobias Feldhaus, Sebastian Falke, Lara von Gruchalla, Birgit Maisch, Christina Uhlmann, Eva Bock, Rebekka Lencer*

*Corresponding author for this work
9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Negative attitudes towards medication in schizophrenia patients are one major factor contributing to non-adherence behavior. Besides, self-stigmatization represents another frequent and important obstacle in patients suffering from psychotic disorders. Here, we investigated possible associations between medication adherence attitude and the extent of self-stigmatization, while also exploring factors related to self-stigmatization. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical variables, medication attitude and self-stigmatization were assessed among 81 subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The cross-sectional data was then analyzed by multivariate analyses. A more positive attitude towards medication was predicted by better insight into illness, lower degree of self-stigmatization and good subjective knowledge about medication (adjusted R2 = 0.23). Furthermore, a higher level of self-stigmatization was associated with lower subjective wellbeing, more severe depressive symptoms and male gender (adjusted R2 = 0.58). Other clinical variables had no additional predictive value for medication adherence attitude or the extent of self-stigmatization. Our findings support the notion that self-stigmatization is an influential factor on medication attitude that should therefore be appreciated in clinical practice. Besides this, special emphasis should be taken on depressive symptoms and reduced wellbeing, especially in male patients, to lower the extent of self-stigmatization.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPsychiatry Research
Volume261
Pages (from-to)391-399
Number of pages9
ISSN0165-1781
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 03.2018

Research Areas and Centers

  • Academic Focus: Center for Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM)

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