Drug adherence correlates with attitude towards medication during treatment with antidepressant drugs: A cross-sectional study

Non-compliance includes various behaviors and attitudes, ranging from total refusal of drug therapy to incorrect use or premature discontinuation, with a potential impact on the severity of symptoms. In the psychiatric setting, patients' reluctance to adhere to medications may result from a lack of insight, fostering unfavorable opinions about pharmacotherapy. This study explores the connections between antidepressant medication adherence, insight, and attitudes towards medications. The participant pool included both inpatients and outpatients, including individuals with established psychiatric diagnoses and excluding those with intellectual disabilities, major neurocognitive disorders, or acute psychotic relapses. Adherence was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) item of the Brief Adherence Rating Scale (BARS), attitude towards drugs was measured with the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI), and insight with the Insight Orientation Scale (IOS). The analysis revealed a significant direct correlation between adherence and attitude towards the drug (ρ =.76; p <.001). Adherence showed a significant direct correlation with both DAI subscales, assessing subjective responses to antipsychotics (ρ =.65; p <.001) and subjective attitude towards treatment (ρ =.72; p <.001). Although the IOS scale did not have a significant correlation with the BARS total score and DAI global score, it did show a significant correlation with the DAI factor II (ρ =.35; p <.01). These findings highlight the central role of patients' attitude towards medications in influencing medication adherence