Perceptions of child psychologists held by parents of Australian school children.

Abstract

To ascertain which particular professional or other sources of help would be sought by parents faced with various problems of their children, two versions of a questionnaire were distributed to 1245 families in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. The results from the 434 usable returned questionnaires indicated that for services which child psychologists would be competent to provide, parents of school children would either prefer to consult an alternative professional or would not seek any professional advice. Doctors and teachers were the preferred sources of professional advice. The socio-economic status of respondents produced no general effect in terms of their patterns of preferences.