Validation of a Facial Image Scale to assess child dental anxiety.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the validity of a scale that uses faces as an indicator of children's dental anxiety.


METHODS
Department of Child Dental Health waiting room, Newcastle Dental Hospital.


METHODS
100 children (aged 3-18 years) completed the Facial Image Scale (FIS) and the Venham Picture Test (VPT) in the dental hospital waiting room.


RESULTS
A strong correlation (0.7) was found between the two scales, indicating good validity for the FIS. Findings also showed that a small, but significant, number of children are anxious in the dental context.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that the FIS is a valid means of assessing child dental anxiety status in a clinical context.
Buchanan
H
H
Division of Psychology, University of Derby, Mickleover, UK. h.buchanan@derby.ac.uk
Niven
N
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results