The impact of antipsychotic side-effects on attitudes toward medication in patients with schizophrenia and related disorders: a systematic review.

Antipsychotics are associated with a wide range of side-effects. Many patients experience antipsychotics as unpleasant and something they would rather avoid, leading some of them to discontinue taking their medication. The importance of evaluating the patients' perspective, especially their attitudes toward medication in the presence of side-effects, has long been emphasized. However, no definite conclusion has been made to date on the relationship between antipsychotic side-effects and attitudes toward medication.