Effect of Negative Automatic Thoughts on Medication Adherence in Individuals With Schizophrenia

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effect of negative automatic thoughts on medication adherence in individuals with schizophrenia. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in a community mental health center between October 2022 and December 2022. The study included 102 individuals with schizophrenia. Data was collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Negative Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (NAT-Q), and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS). The individuals' total mean NAT-Q score was 106.34 ± 27.32. There was a strong negative correlation between NAT-Q and MMAS scores ( r = −0.822, P < 0.05). The study found that negative automatic thoughts predicted medication adherence by 67%. The negative automatic thoughts of the individuals were high and the medication adherence of half of the individuals was low. It was determined that the level of negative automatic thoughts of individuals with schizophrenia may negatively affect their medication adherence. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2023;53(11):518–524.]