Connection between self-stigma, adherence to treatment, and discontinuation of medication

Figures & data

Table 1 Sample characteristics

	Age (years)	Age of illness onset (years)	Illness duration (years)	Number of hospitalizations	Number of visited psychiatrists
Mean	42.66	32.73	7.11	2.32	2.09
SD	14.16	14.61	7.63	2.89	1.79

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Self-stigma, adherence, and discontinuation of medication in the entire sample in relation to sex, education, and partnership status

	Level of self-stigma (mean ± SD)	Statistics – group comparison	Adherence to treatment (mean ± SD)	Statistics – group comparison	Frequency of discontinued medication in the past	Statistics – group comparison
Sex		Unpaired t-test:		Mann–Whitney		Fisher’s exact test:
Male	60.01±14.45	t=1.210	4.241±4.420	U=10,300; NS	39.13%	NS
Female	62.12±14.61	df=275; NS	4.338±4.244		35.67%
Education		One-way ANOVA		One-way ANOVA:
Primary	66.71±15.56	F=2.741	3.543±4.973	F=1.58	45.0%	Chi-square,
Vocational	63.03±12.56	df=276; P<0.05	4.103±4.523	df=287; NS	38.6%	df=1.707, 3; NS
Secondary	59.73±14.37		4.075±4.326		35.9%
Tertiary	58.84±15.76		5.235±3.608		34.2%
Partnership status		Unpaired t-test		Mann–Whitney		Fisher’s exact test:
Without a partner	63.01±14.73	t=2.009	3.664±4.482	U=8,761;	40.0%	NS
With a partner	59.50±14.24	df=275; P<0.05	4.838±4.114	P<0.05	35.0%

Abbreviations: df, degrees of freedom; ANOVA, analysis of variance; NS, not significant; SD, standard deviation.

Figure 1 Linear regression between total ISMI scores and adherence.

Abbreviation: ISMI, Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness.

Table 3 ISMI scores for individual diagnostic categories

	ISMI – substance abuse (n=53)	ISMI – schizophrenia (n=50)	ISMI – bipolar disorder (n=12)	ISMI – depressive disorder (n=39)	ISMI – anxiety (n=102)	ISMI – personality disorder (n=17)
Mean	59.51	62.68	61.75	61.08	59.40	68.88
SD	14.54	13.65	16.78	12.87	14.60	16.91
Statistics	One-way ANOVA F=1.519 df=277; NS

Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance; df, degrees of freedom; ISMI, Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness; NS, not significant; SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Levels of adherence in individual diagnostic categories

	Adherence – substance abuse (n=50)	Adherence –schizophrenia (n=52)	Adherence –bipolar disorder (n=13)	Adherence – depressive disorder (n=41)	Adherence –anxiety (n=110)	Adherence – personality disorder (n=19)
Mean	4.7	2.788	4.000	6.244	4.573	2.789
SD	4.229	4.137	4.397	3.904	4.302	4.602
Statistics	Kruskal–Wallis 19.41; P<0.005

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Figure 2 Frequency of discontinuation of medication in individual diagnostic categories (percentages).