Changing interactions in doctor-parent-child communication

An interactional analysis of the verbal behaviour in the triad doctor-parent-child communication at the General Practitioner's Surgery is presented, containing a comparison over a period of 15 years. Have any interactional changes taken place over this period? Videotaped observations of 59 medical interviews with children in the period 1975-1978 and 36 in the period 1988-1989 were analysed (modal age child = 8 years old). The communicative interaction of the triad doctor-parent-child was assessed with a turn taking system called 'Turn Allocated System' (TAS). Although the conversational contribution of the child was small, it has increased over the years. Whereas in the mid-seventies the child was, by and large, passive, in the eighties, the contribution of the child has grown substantially by taking more initiatives; there is now more direct communication between the child and the GP. At the same time the child interferes more in adult interactions, and the GP appeals more to the active participation of the child in the medical visit communication. The results are discussed in terms of transformational processes that have taken place in society at large, and the position of the child in doctor-parent-child communication.