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BMC Oral Health
Published in: BMC Oral Health 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

Psychometric properties of the faces version of the Malay-modified child dental anxiety scale

Authors: Rashidah Esa, Noratikah Awang Hashim, Yuliana Ayob, Zamros Yuzadi Mohd Yusof

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the faces version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDASf) Malay version in 5–6 and 9–12 year-old children.

Methods

The MCDASf was cross culturally adapted from English into Malay. The Malay version was tested for reliability and validity in 3 studies. In the Study 1, to determine test-retest reliability of MCDASf scale, 166 preschool children aged 5–6 years were asked to rank orders five cartoons faces depicting emotions from ‘very happy’ to ‘very sad’ faces on two separate occasions 3 weeks apart. A total of 87 other 5–6 year-old children completed the Malay-MCDASf on two separate occasions 3 weeks apart to determine test-retest reliability for Study 2. In study 3, 239 schoolchildren aged 9–12 years completed the Malay-MCDASf and the Malay-Dental Subscale of the Children Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS) at the same sitting to determine the criterion and construct validity.

Results

In study 1, Kendall W test showed a high degree of concordance in ranking the cartoon faces picture cards on each of the 2 occasions (time 1, W = 0.955 and time 2, W = 0.954). The Malay-MCDASf demonstrated moderate test-retest reliability (Intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.63, p <0.001) and acceptable internal consistency for all the 6 items (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.77) and 8 items (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.73). The highest MCDASf scores were observed for the items ‘injection in the gum’ and ‘tooth taken out’ for both age groups. The MCDASf significantly correlated with the CFSS-DS (Pearson r = 0.67, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

These psychometric findings support for the inclusion of a cartoon faces rating scale to assess child dental anxiety and the Malay-MCDASf is a reliable and valid measure of dental anxiety in 5–12 year-old children.
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Metadata
Title
Psychometric properties of the faces version of the Malay-modified child dental anxiety scale
Authors
Rashidah Esa
Noratikah Awang Hashim
Yuliana Ayob
Zamros Yuzadi Mohd Yusof
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-015-0013-y

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