Internalized Stigma and Adherence to Treatment Among Outpatients with Mental Illness

Treatment adherence, the key to therapy success and patients’ quality of life, can be influenced by many factors in psychiatric patients, including self-stigma, alongside insight, illness duration, social support, health beliefs, personality, substance abuse, side effects, and life circumstances.

This study aims to identify factors, particularly self-stigma, affecting treatment adherence in stable psychiatric outpatients.

A sample of 200 adult mental health patients in Arak, Iran, diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, or anxiety disorders, participated in this study. Self-stigma was assessed using the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale, and treatment adherence was measured using the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, and chi-square tests.

Among the 200 participants (73 men and 127 women, with an average age of 35.1 years), the average stigma score was 62.8. The mean DAI-10 score was 4.8, with 172 showing positive medication attitudes. Younger, smoking, and alcohol-consuming patients showed lower treatment adherence. Higher self-stigma correlated with lower adherence, but there were no significant associations with gender, marital status, diagnosis, or diagnosis duration.

This study highlights the importance of addressing self-stigma as a barrier to treatment adherence in individuals with mental illnesses. Strategies to reduce self-stigma may improve treatment outcomes, especially among younger patients and those with substance use disorders. Further research is warranted to develop effective interventions for enhancing medication adherence in stable psychiatric outpatients.