Attitudes about antidepressants: influence of information about weight-related side effects.
Antidepressant drugs are frequently prescribed for women and have various side effects, including potential effects on body weight. This experiment examined the effects of information about the weight-related side effects of antidepressants on women's attitudes toward the drugs. 60 college women were randomly assigned to read about one of two drugs, fluoxetine (Prozac) or imipramine (Tofranil). Participants were either told or not told about veridical weight-related side effects, namely, weight loss for Prozac and weight gain for Tofranil. As hypothesized, weight-gain information lowered the personal acceptability of Tofranil, and weight-loss information enhanced the acceptability of Prozac. Although research with clinical populations is required, undergraduate women's decisions about the use of antidepressant medications may be influenced by societal body-image ideals.
Cash
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Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0267, USA. TCASH@odu.edu
Brown
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D004346:Drug Information Services; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007099:Imipramine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011897:Random Allocation; D012737:Sex Factors; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000187:drug effects
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D005473:Fluoxetine; D007099:Imipramine