The acceptability of psychotropic vs. other medications among a small urban primary care sample

In a small urban sample of primary care patients, this pilot study was designed to explore attitudes toward various types of medications, comparing psychotropic vs. non-psychotropic types. Sixty-two participants (77% female, 66% African American) completed a two-page survey developed by the authors. Participants were asked "How acceptable would it be to you if a doctor prescribed the following medications?" For analyses, the 12 medications were divided into 3 categories: 1) psychotropic; 2) mixed (medications that could be categorized as either psychotropic or not); and 3) nonpsychotropic. Results indicated that participants rated psychotropic medications as less acceptable than nonpsychotropic medications, which in one of the analyses was more pronounced among female participants. The possible implications of these findings are discussed.