Differential prediction of dental health behaviour by self-esteem and health locus of control in young adolescents.

A survey of 7770 schoolchildren, aged 14-15 years, from 131 secondary schools in England, was made in 1990 to obtain information about toothbrushing frequency, motivation for mouth care, frequency of dental visits, self-esteem and health locus of control (HLOC). The aim of the study was to compare self-esteem and HLOC as predictors of dental health behaviour. Subjects completed a questionnaire, anonymously, in class during normal school hours. The results showed significant associations (chi 2 test) between the 3 dental variables and self-esteem, in both sexes. Toothbrushing frequency and the proportions of subjects brushing to make their teeth feel clean increased with increasing self-esteem; recent and distant visits to the dentist were associated with low self-esteem. Only toothbrushing frequency showed any significant variation with HLOC. In males, this association showed more frequent toothbrushing with more internal HLOC, but in females, no consistent pattern emerged. HLOC scores showed markedly less correlation (Spearman) with frequencies of toothbrushing and dental visits compared with self-esteem scores. Significant positive correlations were observed between toothbrushing frequency and self-esteem in both sexes, and frequency of dental visits in males, but not in females. HLOC showed a significant positive correlation only with toothbrushing frequency in males. The correlation between toothbrushing frequency and self-esteem was significantly greater than that between brushing frequency and HLOC, in both sexes. The results suggest that self-esteem, which is a general construct, may have more potential for predicting dental health behaviour than the more specific health-related measure HLOC.