PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGICAL DRUGS AS REPRESENTE D IN GERMAN NEWSPAPERS AND POPULAR MAGAZINES - RESULTS OF A SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF ARTICLES ILLUSTRATIONS

Mental diseases and psychopharmacological drugs are frequently discuss ed in newspapers and popular magazines. These representations are supp osed to have a great impact on people's opinions on the subject. From 1 August 1991 to 31 July 1992 all articles about psychopharmacolocial drugs and cardiac drugs in 19 German newspapers were collected. All st atements, effects and side effects, the reason for prescription, indiv idual details about the patient and, according to this procedure, subj ects and implications of the illustrations, were registered and classi fied according to a code book. In contrast to the articles about cardi ac drugs, half of the psychopharmacological drug reports primarily dea l with the problems of side effects the drugs may produce. There was m uch more cirtical comment and emotional emphasis used to characterize the psychopharmacological drugs, Only in 9% was their therapeutic effi cacy mentioned, Cardiac drugs are generally discussed objectively in a medical context and their efficacy is emphasized. Psychopharmacologic al drugs are often mentioned in stories about prominent persons having a life crisis, taking drugs, or turning to alcoholism, in the sense o f social decline. In only 3% of these articles could a serious mental diseases be identified as the reason for the prescription. Correspondi ng to the more prominent emotional emphasis of these articles, compare d to the articles about cardiac drugs, more pictures, mainly of promin ent persons or patients are used. However, the illustration seldom add s to the information provided, The reasons for and implications of the se findings and the significant differences between the distinct group s of newspapers are discussed.