title: Correlates of attitudes towards mood stabilizers in individuals with bipolar disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Attitudes towards medication are believed to be important for medication adherence and social factors are believed to have effects on attitudes. Only a limited literature has focused on how attitudes to medication may correlate with social factors relevant to medication adherence among individuals with bipolar disorder (BPD). This secondary analysis of baseline data from a longitudinal study examined the relationships between attitudes towards mood stabilizers and psychosocial variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community mental health clinic patients (n = 122) were assessed on the outcome variable of medication attitudes as measured by the Attitudes towards Mood Stabilizers Questionnaire (AMSQ). Independent variables included education as well as standardized measures of psychiatric symptom severity, alcohol and drug problem severity, health locus of control (the belief that one's health is self-determined versus determined by factors outside of one's own control), and psychosocial support. A hierarchical multiple regression model evaluated the relationship between AMSQ and these variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More positive medication attitudes were seen in individuals with higher levels of social support and in those who held a stronger belief that their health outcomes are determined by others, such as family or clinicians. Education, symptom severity, alcohol problem severity and drug problem severity were not significant attitudinal correlates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Attitudes towards mood stabilizers are correlated with both the support a person receives from others in their social network and how much a person believes others can influence his or her health. Clinicians need to be aware of the importance of the social environment as it relates to medication attitudes and more research is needed on how treatment attitudes may actually translate into medication adherence behavior.
authors: Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors: Ching-Wen
authors: CW
authors: Chang
authors: Martha
authors: M
authors: Sajatovic
authors: Curtis
authors: C
authors: Tatsuoka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012944:Social Support; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
keywords: attitudes towards mood stabilizers; bipolar disorder; compliance; medication adherence