PEDIATRICIANS COMMUNICATION STYLE - RELATIONSHIP TO PARENTS PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIORS

Investigated physician-parent communication styles and the effects of concordance between parent's desired communication styles and the comm unication style exhibited by physicians. Subjects were 107 parents of children scheduled for an appointment with a pediatrician at a general medical clinic. Parents and physicians completed rating forms indicat ing the degree to which parents desired each of four communication sty les (information giving, interpersonal sensitivity, partnership, and d irecting one's own treatment). Parents and physicians also rated the d egree to which they believed the physician exhibited each of these fou r styles. Follow-up interviews with parents assessed the level of sati sfaction with the visit, perception that parent's concerns had been ad dressed, and subsequent telephone calls to the physician. Results indi cated that physicians underestimated the degree of interaction desired by the parents. Parent desires for particular communication styles we re not predicted by characteristics of the parents. Interaction variab les predicted parent perceptions and subsequent need for contact with the physician.