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Objective. Primary care pediatricians play an important role in the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and referral of children with mental health problems. Some parents, however, are reluctant to discuss behavioral and emotional symptoms with their child's pediatrician. Studies of patient-physician communication suggest that specific aspects of pediatrician interview style (asking questions about psychosocial issues, making supportive statements, and listening attentively) increase disclosure of sensitive information. We hypothesized that disclosures of parent and child psychosocial problems would be more likely to occur during visits when pediatricians used these techniques.

Design. Cross-sectional analysis of a systematic sample of pediatric primary care visits.

Population. Two hundred thirty-four children ages 6 months to 14 years and their mothers or female guardians attending an inner-city hospital-based …