Autor(es):
Campos, Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini 
; Presoto, Cristina Dupim ; Martins, Carolina Scanavez ; Domingos, Patrícia Aleixo dos Santos ; Maroco, João
Data: 2013
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/2453
Origem: Repositório do ISPA - Instituto Universitário
Assunto(s): Dental anxiety; Validation studies; Prevalence
Descrição
Aim: To estimate the reliability and validity of the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and identify the prevalence and the effect of the socio-demographic
characteristics of dental anxiety, in a sample of 212 adults. Methods: The psychometric sensitivity of the scale was assessed. A confirmatory
factor analysis was performed, and the convergent validity and internal consistency were determined. The prevalence of anxiety was estimated,
and the effect of socio-demographic variables on anxiety was assessed using structural equation modelling. Results: The participants’ mean
age was 33.5 (SD = 15.6) years, and 62.3% were female. There was an adequate factorial adjustment of the scale in this sample. The
convergent validity and internal consistency were adequate in the one-factor model. Regarding two-factor model, there was a high correlation
(r) among the factors, which jeopardized the discriminant validity. A total of 47.6% of the participants (IC95% = 40.9 - 54.4) presented low
levels of anxiety, 32.5% (IC95% = 26.2 - 38.9) moderate levels, and 12.3% (IC95% = 7.8 - 16.7) exacerbated levels. There was a non-significant
effect of gender, age and education on the anxiety levels of this sample. Conclusion: We concluded that the one-factor model presented
better psychometric qualities, that anxiety was highly prevalent and there was no significant effect of the demographic variables on anxiety,
in this sample.
