ANTICIPATORY GUIDANCE FOR THE ADOLESCENT - PARENTS CONCERNS

Parents' opinions regarding anticipatory guidance for adolescents have not been adequately investigated. In this study, 932 parents of adole scents completed a computerized questionnaire listing 30 common psycho social-medical concerns of adolescence. Respondents were asked how imp ortant it is for private pediatricians to discuss these topics with th eir teenagers during regular checkups. Ten items were rated important by greater-than-or-equal-to 90% of parents, 22 items by greater-than-o r-equal-to 80%, and 29 items by greater-than-or-equal-to 66%. Heeding parents' expectations and concerns, pediatricians should incorporate d iscussions of psychosocial-medical issues as a meaningful component of routine adolescent health care.