Therapists' communication styles and parents' global trust in the therapists: A comparison between Jewish and Bedouin parents

Purpose: This study was designed to examine the level of global trust in therapists for two groups of Israeli parents, Jews and Bedouin, and to assess which of three interpersonal communication styles significantly explain global trust in the therapists. Methods: A total of 193 parents of children ranging from six months to six years of age participated in this study. Parents' perceptions regarding their communication with the center's therapists were measured by 15 items clustered into three dimensions of communication: caring, collaboration, and interest. Results: Parents of both cultural groups expressed high levels of global trust in the center's therapists. Jewish parents trusted their children's therapists significantly more than their Bedouin counterparts and ranked the therapists' caring and collaboration more highly. The communication style of caring was found to be the sole contributor to the variability in global trust. Conclusions: Effort should be undertaken to develop effective communication styles for the dimension of caring to increase therapists' ability to promote global trust in their patients' parents.