Abstract
BackgroundSociodemographic factors, attitude towards treatment and acculturation may be important factors influencing the decision of immigrants to seek and maintain psychiatric treatment. A better understanding of these factors may significantly improve treatment adherence and outcome in these patients. Therefore, we investigated factors associated the attitude towards psychotherapy and medication in a sample of psychiatric outpatients with and without migration background.MethodsN = 381 patients in a psychiatric outpatient unit offering specialized treatment for migrants were included in this study. Attitude towards psychotherapy was assessed using the Questionnaire on Attitudes Toward Psychotherapeutic Treatment, attitude towards medication with the Drug Attitude Inventory-10. Acculturation, symptom load and sociodemographic variables were assessed in a general questionnaire. Statistical analyses included analyses of covariance and hierarchical regression.ResultsPatients of Turkish and Eastern European origin reported a significantly more positive attitude towards medication than patients without migration background. When controlling for sociodemographic and clinical variables, we did not observe any significant differences in attitude towards psychotherapy. Acculturation neither influenced the attitude towards psychotherapy nor towards medication.ConclusionOur study indicates that sociodemographic and clinical factors may be more relevant for patients´ attitudes towards treatment than acculturation. Considering these factors in psychiatric treatment of patients with migration background may improve treatment outcome and adherence.
Highlights
Sociodemographic factors, attitude towards treatment and acculturation may be important factors influencing the decision of immigrants to seek and maintain psychiatric treatment
Our study indicates that sociodemographic and clinical factors may be more relevant for patientsattitudes towards treatment than acculturation
Despite this increased risk and a higher symptom load compared to individuals without migration background [13,14,15], migrants tend to use mental health services, including psychotherapy, less often [16,17,18,19]
Summary
Sociodemographic factors, attitude towards treatment and acculturation may be important factors influencing the decision of immigrants to seek and maintain psychiatric treatment. The risk for specific psychiatric disorders varies depending on the region of origin [3] as well as on the circumstances of being a migrant or a refugee [4], generally a higher prevalence of most psychiatric disorders has been reported [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12] Despite this increased risk and a higher symptom load compared to individuals without migration background [13,14,15], migrants tend to use mental health services, including psychotherapy, less often [16,17,18,19]. Age, sex, (e.g., [27, 36, 37]) as well as psychiatric symptom load (e.g., [36, 38, 39]) have been investigated regarding an influence on attitude towards psychotherapy with heterogeneous results, indicating a need for further studies in this field
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