Interviewing adolescents

This article reviews the literature on the relationship of physicians' communication skills and patient outcome and discusses integrating a functional approach to the medical interview within the traditional medical interview structure. Patient-centered interviewing techniques are illustrated and discussed using samples of dialogue from interviews between adolescent patients and their doctors. In addition, the structure of the adolescent health visit is addressed. The emphasis is on how to communicate effectively with adolescent patients to enhance patient satisfaction, psychosocial diagnosis, and adherence to treatment recommendations.