Psychometric properties of the modified dental anxiety scale: an independent replication.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant and concurrent validity of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS).


METHODS
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.


RESULTS
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.
Newton
J T
JT
Oral Health Services Research and Dental Public Health, GKT Dental Institute, King's College Hospital, London, UK. tim.newton@kcl.ac.uk
Edwards
J C
JC
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008347:Manifest Anxiety Scale; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014852:Wales