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Impact Of Pediatricians’ Perceived Self-Efficacy and Confidence on Violence Prevention Counseling: A National Study

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Abstract

Objective

To measure impact of pediatricians’ perceived self-efficacy and confidence on current practices and attitudes regarding four violence prevention (VP) topics (gun storage, gun removal, limiting exposure to media violence, discipline techniques) during health supervision for children ages 2–11.

Methods

Random sample survey of American Academy of Pediatrics Fellows (n = 486; 53% response rate) providing health supervision for children ages 2–11. Participants surveyed about VP issues regarding: (1) current counseling practices for 2–5 and 6–11 year olds; (2) amount of time spent addressing; (3) confidence in addressing; and (4) perceived self-efficacy at changing patients’ behaviors. Multivariate analyses explored relationships between pediatricians’ perceived self-efficacy and confidence versus VP counseling frequency.

Results

VP topics were not routinely discussed during health supervision. Most pediatricians (64%) reported spending too little time addressing these topics. Although most pediatricians felt confident discussing and effective at changing behaviors regarding limiting exposure to media violence (89% vs. 50%) and discipline techniques (91% vs. 76%), they were less so for safe gun storage (54% vs. 35%) and gun removal (51% vs. 17%). Perceived self-efficacy was the mediating factor on self-reported VP counseling frequencies for all topics.

Conclusions

Pediatricians reported spending insufficient time on VP counseling. Confidence and perceived self-efficacy levels varied by VP topic, but for all topics pediatricians felt more confident discussing than effective at changing behaviors. Since pediatricians’ self-efficacy was related to counseling practices, boosting self-efficacy could ultimately improve counseling frequencies. Further research is needed to identify methods to build providers’ perceived self-efficacy regarding these VP areas.

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Acknowledgments

Primary funding sources for this study were the AAP and NICHD/AHRQ R01 HD42260. In addition, the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) network receives core funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the AAP. Dr. Barkin was also supported as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Faculty Scholar. We gratefully acknowledge Karen O’Connor, Survey Manager, and Sandy Sharp, Research/Database Analyst, from the Division of Health Services Research at the AAP for their contributions on the Periodic Survey of Fellows #55.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS), Department of Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL, 60007, USA

    Stacia A. Finch & Victoria Weiley

  2. Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Edward H. Ip

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    Shari Barkin

Authors
  1. Stacia A. Finch
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  2. Victoria Weiley
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  3. Edward H. Ip
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  4. Shari Barkin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stacia A. Finch.

Additional information

This study was supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In addition, the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) network receives core funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Dr. Barkin was also supported as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Faculty Scholar.

Prior presentation: Pediatric Academic Societies’ Meeting, May 2004, San Francisco, CA.

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Finch, S.A., Weiley, V., Ip, E.H. et al. Impact Of Pediatricians’ Perceived Self-Efficacy and Confidence on Violence Prevention Counseling: A National Study. Matern Child Health J 12, 75–82 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0223-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0223-2

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