A study of psychological stress created in dentists by children during pediatric dental treatment.
Stresses on dental practitioners arising from pediatric examination and treatment can be broadly divided into those produced by the child and those produced by the child's guardian (usually the mother). The present study examined the psychological influence of the child. A series of questions regarding psychological stress caused by child patients was administered to a group of dentists and, by factor analysis, reduced to a 21-item scale. The effectiveness of this instrument was examined for reliability and validity. The following results were obtained: 1. The 21 items in the scale were selected for their association with three primary factors: stress from mild resistance behavior, stress from moderate resistance behavior, and stress from determined resistance behavior. 2. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency and, by test-retest, high stability over time. 3. High scores on a standardized scale for psychological stress in everyday life were found to correlate positively to scores on the scale created in the present study. The correlation was significant beyond the 5 percent level. Confirmatory factor analysis found factor loading for all items of 0.50 or greater, with no duplication of factors within items. Both tests confirmed the validity of the scale. The above results indicate that the scale created in the present study is an effective instrument for measuring psychological stress in dental practitioners created by children during pediatric dental treatment and examination.
Kan
M
M
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Hiroshima University.
Ishikawa
T
T
Nagasaka
N
N
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D002648:Child; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000523:psychology*; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008347:Manifest Anxiety Scale; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires