Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 28, 2026
Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Physicians' attention to parents' concerns about the psychosocial functioning of their children
B G Wildman1, A H Kizilbash, W D Smucker
1Department of Psychology, Kent State University, OH 44242, USA.
Insights
Physicians are more likely to identify children with psychosocial problems when parents disclose concerns. Parental distress also increases physician attention to these issues, highlighting the importance of open communication in primary care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric primary care
- Child and adolescent mental health
- Physician-patient communication
Background:
- Approximately 20% of children experience psychosocial problems, yet few receive specialist mental health care.
- Primary care physicians often identify these issues when parents voice concerns.
- Limited research exists on factors influencing physician attention to parental disclosures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors influencing primary care physicians' attention to parental disclosures of psychosocial concerns.
- To determine if the child's psychosocial functioning or parental factors predict physician identification.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 75 parents and 26 physicians in a university-affiliated primary care clinic.
- Parents reported on their own and their children's psychosocial functioning.
- Physicians reported on child functioning and whether parents disclosed concerns.
Main Results:
- Physicians identified 50% of children with significant behavior problems.
- Parental disclosure was the strongest predictor of physician identification.
- Physicians were more likely to note disclosures when children had problems or when parents reported personal distress.
Conclusions:
- Parental disclosure is more critical than child behavior problems for physician identification of psychosocial issues.
- Physicians are more responsive to disclosures from parents of children with significant problems and when parents experience distress.
- Enhancing physician awareness of parental concerns is crucial for addressing child psychosocial health in primary care.
Background:
Epidemiological data indicate that approximately 20% of children have psychosocial problems, yet less than 2% of children are seen by mental health specialists each year. Primary care physicians tend to identify children with psychosocial problems when parents discuss concerns with them.
Objective:
To examine factors related to physicians' attention to parental disclosures.
Design:
Parents reported the psychosocial functioning of themselves and their children. Physicians reported the psychosocial functioning of 75 children and whether the parent disclosed psychosocial concerns to them.
Setting:
Ambulatory care clinic of a community-based, university-affiliated, residency training program.
Participants:
Seventy-five parents of children aged 2 to 16 years who presented for routine primary care, and 26 physicians.
Main Outcome Measures:
Beck Depression Inventory (parental distress), Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (child behavior problems), physician and parent report.
Results:
Physicians identified 50.0% of children with clinically significant behavior problems. Logistic regression indicated that parental disclosure was the only significant predictor of physician identification (P < .002). When children had clinically significant behavior problems, physicians were more likely to report disclosures by parents (45.0% vs 5.7% for parents of children with and without behavior problems, respectively). Physicians were more likely to report parental disclosure when parents reported personal psychosocial distress (38.9% for distressed vs 5.7% nondistressed parents).
Conclusions:
Parental disclosure of concerns was a better predictor of physician identification of child psychosocial problems than was the presence of child behavior problems. Physicians responded more frequently to the disclosures of potential problems by parents of children with clinically significant psychosocial problems. They also attended more frequently to disclosures about behavior problems when the parent was also experiencing psychosocial distress.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
03:00Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
01:29Psychodynamic Therapy
01:30Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment
01:29Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings