The beliefs about medicines questionnaire: The development and evaluation of a new method for assessing the cognitive representation of medication

This paper presents a novel method for assessing cognitive representations of medication: the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ). The BMQ comprises two sections: the BMQ-Specific which assesses representations of medication prescribed for personal use and the BMQ-General which assesses beliefs about medicines in general. The pool of test items was derived from themes identified in published studies and from interviews with chronically ill patients. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the test items resulted in a logically coherent, 18 item, 4-factor structure which was stable across various illness groups. The BMQ-Specific comprises two 5-item factors assessing beliefs about the necessity of prescribed medication (Specific-Necessity) and concerns about prescribed medication based on beliefs about the danger of dependence and long-term toxicity and the disruptive effects of medication (Specific-Concerns). The BMQ-General comprises two 4-item factors assessing beliefs that medicines are harmful, addictive, poisons which should not be taken continuously (General-Horn) and that medicines are overused by doctors (General-Overuse). The two sections of the BMQ can be used in combination or separately. The paper describes the development of the BMQ scales and presents data supporting their reliability and their criterion-related and discriminant validity.