Attitudes towards psychotropic drugs: schizophrenic patients vs. general public

Results of representative survey in Germany have shown that the lay public takes a critical stance towards the treatment of mental disorders with psychotropic medication. This raises the question as to whether this view is shared by the schizophrenic patients. Method: Using a questionnaire consisting of ten 5-point Likert-scaled items. 104 schizophrenic patients, who were treated with clozapine. were asked to assess the positive and negative effects of psychotropic drugs. Follow-up?, were carried out 3 and 6 months later. Data from a representative survey of the German adult population a ere consulted fur comparison. Results: As compared with the general public. schizophrenic patients were more frequently prepared to acknowledge positive effects of psychotropic drugs. On the other hand. they less frequently subscribed to negative evaluations of the medication. Their assessment remained remarkably stable over the six-month period studied. Conclusion: While schizophrenic patients' evaluations of psychotropic drugs were less negative than those prevalent among the lay public. they also expressed a considerable amount of scepticism and insecurity.