Subjective experience and subjective response to neuroleptics in schizophrenia

Although several studies have addressed the issue of the relationship between the subjective response to neuroleptics and drug compliance, very little attention has been given to the study of the subjective experience of psychosis and drug attitudes. The present study was therefore undertaken to examine the relationship between the subjective experience of psychosis as assessed by the Frankfurter Beschwerde-Fragebogen (FBF) and subjective response (SR) to neuroleptics as assessed by the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI) in a group of schizophrenic patients. Significant correlations were found between the total scores on the FBF and DAI (r =.46, P <.01). The DAI total score also correlated with all four factors (central cognitive disturbances, perception and motility, depressivity, and internal and external overstimulation) on the FBF. This finding suggeststhat the SR neuroleptics is partly explained by a ’positive’ subjective experience of psychosis. (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.