Do psychiatrists understand research-related experiences, attitudes, and motivations of schizophrenia study participants?

Psychiatrists serve in different but important capacities with research participants. Because ethical problems may arise in research when participants misunderstand motives and responsibilities of clinical-investigators (i.e., "therapeutic misconception"), it is important that relationships between research participants and psychiatric caregivers and investigators be based on genuine mutual understanding. Considerations about attunement of psychiatrists with schizophrenia research participants have never been studied empirically. As part of a larger structured interview-survey study, we assessed the predictions of psychiatrists regarding self-reported experiences, attitudes, and motivations of individual schizophrenia research volunteers who were known to the respondent psychiatrists. Fourteen patient-psychiatrist pairs were identified for inclusion. Psychiatrists predicted schizophrenia research participants' ease of participation, privacy concerns, and willingness to participate in future research but underestimated their positive overall experience. Psychiatrists also were attuned to schizophrenia participants' attitudes and motivations regarding personal benefit but did not accurately predict their responses concerning helping others and science. Also, psychiatrists underestimated the schizophrenia participants' perceived degree of influence by researchers and caregivers during recruitment. Psychiatrists recognized the burden, primary concerns, future participation willingness, and personal benefit orientation of schizophrenia participants, but they did not appear to fully understand the overall positive quality of research experience, altruistic orientation, and relationship orientation of their schizophrenia patients who volunteer for research participation.