Why Do Schizophrenic Patients Refuse to Take Their Drugs?

Abstract

Patients with schizophrenia often do not take their prescribed phenothiazines. This survey focused on the drug-taking behavior of 85 mostly chronic schizophrenic patients during a two-year period. Thirty-nine (46%) of these patients took less antipsychotic drug than the amount prescribed. The reluctance to take antipsychotic medication was significantly associated with extrapyramidal symptoms—most notably a subtle akathisia. It is proposed that drug reluctance and dysphoric response to antipsychotic drugs are often extrapyramidally based.