Correlates of psychotropic drug use in women: interpersonal problem solving and depression

Interpersonal problem solving ability was assessed in a community-based study with 179 French-speaking women who were consuming psychotropic drugs at varying frequencies. Significant differences were found between psychotrope consumers and nonconsumers in problem solving scores, with deficiencies in defining the problem characteristic of regular consumers. When subjects were separated on the basis of the Beck Depression Inventory scores, depressed women were differentiated only in their ability to generate alternatives and provide viable solutions to problems. The results are discussed in terms of difficulties with problem definition which might prompt a physician to prescribe, and the role of problem solving deficiencies in drug use maintenance.