The public debate on psychotropic medication and changes in attitudes 1990–2011
Autor: | Matthias C. Angermeyer, Mauro Giovanni Carta, Sebastian E. Baumeister, Herbert Matschinger, Georg Schomerus, Sandra Van der Auwera |
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Rok vydání: | 2015 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male medicine.medical_specialty Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject Population Public debate Public opinion Cohort Studies Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Optimism Germany Psychiatric medication medicine Humans Personality Pharmacology (medical) 030212 general & internal medicine education Psychiatry Biological Psychiatry Aged media_common Aged 80 and over Psychotropic Drugs education.field_of_study business.industry Mental Disorders Social environment General Medicine Middle Aged Health Surveys 030227 psychiatry Psychiatry and Mental health Attitude Public Opinion Regression Analysis Female business Clinical psychology Cohort study |
Zdroj: | European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 266:165-172 |
ISSN: | 1433-8491 0940-1334 |
Popis: | Over the last 25 years, the appraisal of psychotropic drugs within the scientific community and their representation in the media has changed considerably. The initial optimism in the wake of the introduction of second-generation drugs has increasingly made room for a more critical evaluation of alleged advantages of these drugs. The question arises as to what extent this is reflected in similar changes in the public's attitudes towards psychiatric medication. Three representative population surveys on attitudes towards psychotropic medication were carried out in Germany in 1990 (N = 3075), 2001 (N = 2610) and 2011 (N = 1223), using the same sampling procedure, interview mode and instrument for assessing attitudes. In order to disentangle time-related effects, an age-period-cohort analysis was performed. Over the time period of 21 years, the German public's evaluation of psychotropic medication has become markedly more favourable. This change was mostly due to a period effect, i.e. concurrent influences of the social environment people are exposed to. Changes were much more pronounced in the 1990s, while over the following decade only a small, although statistically significant, increase in the favourable appraisal of medication was found. Age and birth cohort had only a minor effect on public attitudes. Our findings suggest that changes in the evaluation of the effects of psychotropic drugs within the psychiatric community and their representation in the media also affect public opinion. Given the ongoing debate about side effects and efficacy of psychiatric medication, future changes of public opinion can be expected. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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