title: Doctors' Attachment Orientations, Emotion Regulation Strategies, and Patient Satisfaction: A Multilevel Analysis.
abstract: Extending recent research on emotion regulation in doctor-patient interaction, the present study examined relationships between doctors' attachment orientations, their emotion regulation strategies, and patients' satisfaction with the encounter. Forty doctors completed scales of attachment orientations and emotion regulation strategies, and 160 of their patients reported on a standard measure of satisfaction with their doctor. Results from multilevel analyses showed that doctors' avoidant and anxious attachment orientations were independently associated with lower satisfaction for patients higher on serious illness perceptions. Doctors' emotion regulation strategies did not mediate insecure attachment orientation relationships with patients' satisfaction as anticipated, but these regulatory strategies were an independent factor associated with satisfaction levels of patients with higher illness severity perceptions. The study confirms predictions based on attachment theory that doctors' insecure attachment can have adverse effects for doctor-patient interaction.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Crete.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kafetsios
authors.affiliation: b Faculty of Social Sciences , Hellenic Open University.
authors.forename: Konstantina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hantzara
authors.affiliation: c School of Psychology , Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences.
authors.forename: Fotios
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Anagnostopoulos
authors.affiliation: b Faculty of Social Sciences , Hellenic Open University.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Niakas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055361:Multilevel Analysis; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*