The influence of medical students' and doctors' attachment style and emotional intelligence on their patient-provider communication

Abstract

Objective: Attachment style and emotional intelligence (EI) have been highlighted as potential factors influencing the variation in medical students' and doctors' patient-provider communication (PPC), particularly in relation to emotive issues. The objective of this review is to systematically review and synthesise the published literature relating to the influence of medical students' and/or doctors' attachment style and EI on their PPC.

Methods: Electronic and hand searches were conducted to identify all published literature relating to the aim of the review. Data were narratively synthesised.

Results: 1597 studies were identified. 14 were included in the review, of which 5 assessed the influence of attachment style and 9 assessed the influence of EI on PPC. No studies assessed the impact of both attachment style and EI on PPC.

Conclusion: Whilst tentative links were found between both PPC and both attachment style and EI, heterogeneity in study design, predictor variables and outcome measures made drawing conclusions difficult.

Practice implications: More research is needed to assess the influence of both attachment style and EI on PPC.

Keywords: Attachment style; Clinical communication; Doctor; Emotional intelligence; Medical education; Medical student; Patient–provider communication; Systematic review.