Abstract
Few studies have directly examined the interrelationship of teen and parent attitudes toward psychiatric medication and how this relates to medication adherence. In the current study, survey data from 19 parent–child dyads were analyzed to investigate the relationship of parent and teen attitudes toward medication, decision self-efficacy, and current involvement in decisions about psychiatric medication with self-reported adherence. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to fit actor-partner interdependence models to examine bidirectional effects of the dyadic relationships. Teens and parents had similarly positive attitudes toward medication, high levels of self-efficacy and self-reported adherence. Current involvement in decisions about medications was significantly lower for teens compared to their parents. The actor-partner interdependence models revealed that parent levels of decision self-efficacy were related to youth self-reported adherence (partner effect). Youth attitudes toward medications were related to youth self-reported adherence (actor effect). Parent and teen actor effects of decisional self-efficacy were significantly associated with current involvement. Providers need to be aware of the importance of engaging both teens and parents in decisions about psychiatric medication and recognize the need to explicitly elicit questions and concerns from young patients.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AACAP. (2009). Practice parameters on the use of psychotropic medication in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(9), 961–973.
Alderson, P., Sutcliffe, K., & Curtis, K. (2006). Children’s competence to consent to medical treatment. The Hastings Center Report, 36(6), 25–34.
Alegria, M., Polo, A., Gao, S., Santana, L., Rothstein, D., Jimenez, A., et al. (2008). Evaluation of a patient activation and empowerment intervention in mental health care. Medical Care, 46(3), 247–256.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders—text revision. Washington, DC, Author.
Biering, P. (2010). Child and adolescent experience of and satisfaction with psychiatric care: A critical review of the research literature. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 17(1), 65–72.
Bunn, H., & O’Connor, A. (1996). Validation of client decision-making instruments in the context of psychiatry. The Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 28(3), 13–27.
Butz, A. M., Walker, J. M., Pulsifer, M., & Winkelstein, M. (2007). Shared decision making in school age children with asthma. Pediatric Nursing, 33(2), 111–116.
Cook, W. L., & Kenny, D. A. (2005). The actor-partner interdependence model: A model of bidirectional effects in developmental studies. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29(2), 101–109.
Copeland, V. C., Koeske, G., & Greeno, C. G. (2004). Child and mother client satisfaction questionnaire scores regarding mental health services: Race, age, and gender correlates. Research on Social Work Practice, 14(6), 434–442.
Costello, J. C. (2003). “The trouble is they’re growing, the trouble is they’re grown”: Therapeutic jurisprudence and adolescents’ participation in mental health care decisions. Ohio Northern University Law Review, 29(3), 607–640.
Coyne, I. (2006). Consultation with children in hospital: Children, parents’ and nurses’ perspectives. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 15(6), 61–71.
Cranney, A., O’Connor, A. M., Jacobsen, M. J., Tugwell, P., Adachi, J. D., Ooi, D. S., et al. (2002). Development and pilot testing of a decision aid for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Patient Education and Counseling, 47(3), 245–255.
Crickard, E. L., O’Brien, M. S., Rapp, C. A., & Holmes, C. L. (2010). Developing a framework to support shared decision making for youth mental health medication treatment. Community Mental Health Journal, 46(5), 474–481.
Deegan, P. E., & Drake, R. E. (2006). Shared decision making and medication management in the recovery process. Psychiatric Services, 57(11), 1636–1639.
Dilallo, J. J., & Weiss, G. (2009). Motivational interviewing and adolescent psychopharmacology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(2), 108–113.
Floersch, J., Townsend, L., Longhofer, J., Munson, M., Winbush, V., Kranke, D., et al. (2009). Adolescent experience of psychotropic treatment. Transcult Psychiatry, 46(1), 157–179.
Friedman, R. M., Katz-Levey, J. W., Manderschied, R. W., & Sondheimer, D. L. (1996). Prevalence of serious emotional disturbance in children, adolescents. Rockville, MD: US Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Hamrin, V., McCarthy, E. M., & Tyson, V. (2010). Pediatric psychotropic medication initiation and adherence: A literature review based on social exchange theory. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 23(3), 151–172.
Hogan, T. P., Awad, A. G., et al. (1983). A self-report scale predictive of drug compliance in schizophrenics: Reliability and discriminative validity. Psychological Medicine, 13, 177–183.
Huffine, C. (2005). Supporting recovery for older children and adolescents. [Newsletter]. Focal Point: Research Policy and Practice in Children’s Mental Health, Resilience and Recovery, 19(1), 22–24.
IOM. (2006). Improving the quality of health care for mental and substance-use conditions. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Kashy, D. A., & Kenny, D. A. (1999). The analysis of data from dyads and groups. In H. T. Reis (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in social psychology. New York: Campbridge University Press.
Kelsey, J., Abelson-Mitchell, N., & Skirton, H. (2007). Perceptions of young people about decision making in the acute healthcare environment. Paediatric Nursing, 19(6), 14–18.
Kenny, D. A. (1996). Models of nonindependence in dyadic research. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 13, 279–294.
Kenny, D. A., Kashy, D. A., & Cook, W. L. (2006). Dyadic data analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Longhofer, J., & Floersch, J. (2010). Desire and disappointment: Adolescent psychotropic treatment and adherence. Anthropology & Medicine, 17(2), 159–172.
Longhofer, J., Floersch, J., & Okpych, N. (2011). Foster youth and psychotropic treatment: Where next? Children and Youth Services Review, 33(2), 395–404.
McNeal, R. E., Roberts, M. C., & Barone, V. J. (2000). Mothers’ and children’s perceptions of medication for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 30(3), 173–187.
O’Brien, M. S., Crickard, L., Rapp, C., Holmes, C., & McDonald, T. (2011). Critical issues for psychiatric medication shared decision making with youth and families. Families in Society, 93(3), 310–316.
O’Connor, A. M. (1995). Validation of a decisional conflict scale. Medical Decision Making, 15(1), 25–30.
O’Connor, A. M. (2002). User manual—Decision Self-Efficacy Scale [document on the Internet]. Ottawa: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; Copywrite 1995; [modified 2002; cited 10 07 2010] 4 p. Available from http://www.decisionaid.ohri.ca/docs/develop/User_Manuals/UMDecisionSelfEfficacy.pdf.
Parchman, M. L., Zeber, J. E., & Palmer, R. F. (2010). Participatory decision making, patient activation, medication adherence, and intermediate clinical outcomes in type 2 diabetes: A STARNet study. Annals of Family Medicine, 8(5), 410–417.
Randall, C. J., & Vernberg, E. M. (2008). Evidence-Based Treatment for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbance. In R. G. Steele, T. D. Elkin, & M. C. Roberts (Eds.), Handbook of evidence-based therapies for children and adolescents (pp. 389–408). New York: Springer.
SAMHSA. (2008). Transforming children’s mental health care in America. Substance abuse and mental health services administration systems of care, from http://www.systemsofcare.samhsa.gov/headermenus/deffamilydriven.aspx.
Swallow, V., Lambert, H., Santacroce, S., & Macfadyen, A. (2011). Fathers and mothers developing skills in managing children’s long-term medical conditions: How do their qualitative accounts compare? [Article]. Child: Care, Health and Development, 37(4), 512–523.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Townsend, L., Floersch, J., & Findling, R. L. (2009). Adolescent attitudes toward psychiatric medication: The utility of the drug attitude inventory. J Child Psychol Psyc, 50(12), 1523–1531.
Townsend, L., Floersch, J., & Findling, R. L. (2010a). The conceptual adequacy of the drug attitude inventory for measuring youth attitudes toward psychotropic medications: A mixed methods evaluation. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(1), 32–55.
Townsend, L., Gearing, R. E., & Floersch, J. (2010). Medication adherence: What adolescents are saying and what prescribers can do. Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology News, 15(2), 7–8.
Van Roy, B., Groholt, B., Heyerdahl, S., & Clench-Aas, J. (2010). Understanding discrepancies in parent-child reporting of emotional and behavioural problems: Effects of relational and socio-economic factors. BMC Psychiatry, 10(56), 1–12.
Wysocki, T., & Gavin, L. (2004). Psychometric properties of a new measure of fathers’ involvement in the management of pediatric chronic diseases. [Article]. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29(3), 231–240.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported in part through a contract with the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services/Behavioral Health Services.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O’Brien, M., Crickard, E., Lee, J. et al. Attitudes and Experience of Youth and Their Parents with Psychiatric Medication and Relationship to Self-Reported Adherence. Community Ment Health J 49, 567–575 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-012-9526-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-012-9526-x