Assessment of beliefs about psychotropic medication and psychotherapy: development of a measure for patients with anxiety disorders

Bystritsky, Alexander; Wagner, Amy W.; Russo, Joan E.; Stein, Murray B.; Sherbourne, Cathy D.; Craske, Michelle G.; Roy-Byrne, Peter P.

doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2005.05.005

« Previous Next »General Hospital Psychiatry
Volume 27, Issue 5 , Pages 313-318, September 2005

Assessment of beliefs about psychotropic medication and psychotherapy: development of a measure for patients with anxiety disorders☆

Alexander Bystritsky, M.D.
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Amy W. Wagner, Ph.D.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine at Harborview Medical Center, Box 359911, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 206 341 4208; fax: +1 206 731 3236.
Joan E. Russo, Ph.D.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine at Harborview Medical Center, Box 359911, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA
Murray B. Stein, M.D., M.P.H.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
Cathy D. Sherbourne, Ph.D.
- Health Program, RAND, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Michelle G. Craske, Ph.D.
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Peter P. Roy-Byrne, M.D.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine at Harborview Medical Center, Box 359911, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA

Received 25 March 2005; accepted 17 May 2005.

Abstract

Objective

This study presents the psychometric properties of a brief measure to assess beliefs about psychotropic medications and psychotherapy among patients with anxiety disorders.

Method

Data were collected on a large sample of primary care patients with a range of anxiety disorders, as part of the Collaborative Care for Anxiety and Panic study. Factor analyses using principal axis factoring with Varimax rotations were used to determine the factor structure of the beliefs scale. Internal consistency, concurrent validity and predictive validity of the resulting subscales were examined.

Results

Two subscales emerged, one reflecting beliefs about psychotropic medications and the other assessing beliefs about psychotherapy. Both showed strong internal consistency and concurrent validity. The beliefs about psychotropic medication demonstrated strong predictive validity.

Conclusions

This measure may be a useful tool for assessing treatment beliefs among patients with anxiety disorders toward the provision of more quality treatment for this population. Its brevity may make it particularly useful in primary health care settings.

Keywords: Assessment, Anxiety, Beliefs, Primary care

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☆ This work was performed through the University of Washington, Seattle, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, San Diego.

PII: S0163-8343(05)00069-1

doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2005.05.005

« Previous Next »General Hospital Psychiatry
Volume 27, Issue 5 , Pages 313-318, September 2005

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