J T Newton1, J C Edwards. 1. Oral Health Services Research and Dental Public Health, GKT Dental Institute, King's College Hospital, London, UK. tim.newton@kcl.ac.uk
Abstract
AIM: To estimate the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant and concurrent validity of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). METHOD: Survey of a cohort of 135 dental patients in three equal groups (non-anxious; treated anxious; highly anxious). The average age of the total sample was 39.2 years (SD = 13.21), 101 patients (75%) were female. All patients were asked to complete the MDAS, together with the brief form (six items) of the Speilberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Thirty-three participants completed the MDAS on a second occasion 2-3 months after the first testing session. FINDINGS: The MDAS is highly internally consistent (Cronbach alpha = 0.93) and shows good reliability over time (Intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.93). The MDAS was found to discriminate between the three groups of participants defined by self-reported anxiety level, and correlates highly with the Speilberger Trait Anxiety Inventory. CONCLUSIONS: The MDAS is a highly consistent and reliable measure which has good discriminant and concurrent validity.
AIM: To estimate the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant and concurrent validity of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). METHOD: Survey of a cohort of 135 dental patients in three equal groups (non-anxious; treated anxious; highly anxious). The average age of the total sample was 39.2 years (SD = 13.21), 101 patients (75%) were female. All patients were asked to complete the MDAS, together with the brief form (six items) of the Speilberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Thirty-three participants completed the MDAS on a second occasion 2-3 months after the first testing session. FINDINGS: The MDAS is highly internally consistent (Cronbach alpha = 0.93) and shows good reliability over time (Intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.93). The MDAS was found to discriminate between the three groups of participants defined by self-reported anxiety level, and correlates highly with the Speilberger Trait Anxiety Inventory. CONCLUSIONS: The MDAS is a highly consistent and reliable measure which has good discriminant and concurrent validity.
Authors: Siyang Yuan; Ruth Freeman; Satu Lahti; Ffion Lloyd-Williams; Gerry Humphris Journal: Health Qual Life Outcomes Date: 2008-03-25 Impact factor: 3.186