title: Beliefs of people taking antidepressants about causes of depression and reasons for increased prescribing rates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Public beliefs about the causes of mental health problems are related to desire for distance and pessimism about recovery, and are therefore frequently studied. The beliefs of people receiving treatment are researched less often.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey on causal beliefs about depression and experiences with antidepressants was completed by 1829 New Zealand adults prescribed anti-depressants in the preceding five years, 97.4% of whom proceeded to take antidepressants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most frequently endorsed of 17 causal beliefs were family stress, relationship problems, loss of loved one, financial problems, isolation, and abuse or neglect in childhood. Factor analysis produced three factors: 'bio-genetic', 'adulthood stress' and 'childhood adversity'. The most strongly endorsed explanations for increases in antidepressant prescribing invoked improved identification, reduced stigma and drug company marketing. The least strongly endorsed was 'Anti-depressants are the best treatment'. Regression analyses revealed that self-reported efficacy of the antidepressants was positively associated with bio-genetic causal beliefs, negatively associated with childhood adversity beliefs and unrelated to adulthood stress beliefs. The belief that 'People cannot׳ get better by themselves even if they try' was positively associated with bio-genetic beliefs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The convenience sample may have been biased towards a favourable view of bio-genetic explanations, since 83% reported that the medication reduced their depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinicians׳ should consider exploring patients׳ causal beliefs. The public, even when taking antidepressants, continues to hold a multi-factorial causal model of depression with a primary emphasis on psycho-social causes. A three factor model of those beliefs may lead to more sophisticated understandings of relationships with stigma variables.
authors: Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GB UK. Electronic address: readj@liv.ac.uk.
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Read
authors: School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: Cartwright
authors: School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
authors: Kerry
authors: K
authors: Gibson
authors: Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GB UK.
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Shiels
authors: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors: Nicholas
authors: N
authors: Haslam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009520:New Zealand; D012494:Sampling Studies; D015983:Selection Bias; D057545:Social Stigma; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
keywords: Antidepressants; Causal beliefs; Depression; Prognostic pessimism; Stigma