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Physician Personality Characteristics and Inquiry About Mood Symptoms in Primary Care

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ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Depression treatment is often initially sought from primary care physicians.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the influence of physician personality on depression assessments.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of data collected in a randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Offices of primary care physicians in Rochester, NY.

PARTICIPANTS

Forty-six physicians; six female actors.

Intervention

Eighty-six unannounced standardized patient (SPs) visits; physicians saw one SP with major depression and one with adjustment disorder.

MEASUREMENTS

SPs listened to audiotapes and completed a form on doctoring behaviors and symptom inquiry immediately following the visit. For the assessment of diagnostic documentation, SPs’ medical records were reviewed. Physician personality was assessed via items from the NEO-PI-R.

RESULTS

Physicians who are more dutiful and more vulnerable were more likely to document a diagnosis of depression; those who are more dutiful also asked fewer questions concerning mood symptoms.

LIMITATION

Roles portrayed by the SPs may not reflect the experience of a typical primary care patient. Most of the PCPs were white men. The sample of PCPs was limited to a single geographic location. Effect sizes were modest.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical, educational, and translational, implications of research showing that physician personality traits could affect practice behaviors warrant consideration. Current models of treatment for depression in primary care could be engineered to accommodate the variability in physician personality. Given that there is no single “correct” way to ask about mood disorders or suicide, clinicians are encouraged to adopt an approach that fits their personal style and preferences.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Blue Shield of California, the UCD Primary Care Network, Western Health Advantage (Sacramento), Kaiser Permanente (Sacramento), Brown & Toland IPA (San Francisco), and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and Preferred Care (Rochester). This work was supported by United States Public Health Grants R01MH064683, T32 MH073452, K24MH072712, and K24MH072756.

Conflict of Interest

The design, conduct, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the results of this study were performed independently of the funders. The funding agency also played no role in review or approval of the manuscript. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Personality and Development, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA

    Paul R. Duberstein PhD, Benjamin P. Chapman PhD & Kelly R. McCollumn BA

  2. Rochester Center for the Improvement of Communication in Health Care, Department of Family Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA

    Ronald M. Epstein MD

  3. Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA

    Richard L. Kravitz MD, MSPH

Authors
  1. Paul R. Duberstein PhD
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  2. Benjamin P. Chapman PhD
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  3. Ronald M. Epstein MD
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  4. Kelly R. McCollumn BA
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  5. Richard L. Kravitz MD, MSPH
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Correspondence to Paul R. Duberstein PhD.

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Duberstein, P.R., Chapman, B.P., Epstein, R.M. et al. Physician Personality Characteristics and Inquiry About Mood Symptoms in Primary Care. J GEN INTERN MED 23, 1791–1795 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0780-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0780-0

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