Reliability and validity of a new Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) for the psychoses

Medication compliance is one of the foremost problems affecting neuroleptic efficacy in psychiatric patients. To date, compliancy has most commonly been assessed with the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI) developed by Hogan et al. (Hogan, T.P., Awad, A.G., Eastwood, R., 1983. A self-report scale predictive of drug compliance in schizophrenics: reliability and discriminative validity. Psychol. Med. 13, 177-183). The present study identified several deficiencies in the DAI. Using the partial credit version of the Item Response Theory measurement model, the DAI was refined with the aim of greater validity and clinical utility. The new inventory was administered to 66 patients, the majority of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia. When available, lithium levels and carer ratings of compliance were also recorded and used to verify compliancy. The new inventory appears to be a valid and reliable measure of compliancy for psychoactive medications. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.