title: The relationship between Sense of Coherence and toothbrushing behaviours in Iranian adolescents in Mashhad.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the association between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and toothbrushing behaviours in Iranian adolescents in Mashhad.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative stratified random sample of 1054 grade 6 Iranian students, living in Mashhad, answered a 37-item questionnaire with questions on socio-demographic characteristics, frequency of toothbrushing behaviours and Antonovsky's 13-item SOC scale. Binary logistic regression was used to test the association between SOC and toothbrushing behaviours.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher SOC scores were significantly associated with more frequent toothbrushing behaviours (p=0.01). This positive association remained significant after adjusting for sex and father's education level (p=0.01). When testing this association for the boys and girls separately, the association was significant only for girls (p=0.02). However, the interaction between sex and SOC was not significant (p=0.56). The association between toothbrushing and sex remained significant after adjusting for SOC (p<0.001). Boys had a significantly stronger SOC than girls (p=0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SOC was associated with toothbrushing frequency in Iranian adolescents in Mashhad. SOC did not fully explain the sex difference in toothbrushing behaviours.
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK. mojtabadorri@yahoo.com
authors: Mojtaba
authors: M
authors: Dorri
authors: Aubrey
authors: A
authors: Sheiham
authors: Rebecca
authors: R
authors: Hardy
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Watt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004522:Educational Status; D005220:Fathers / Q000193:education; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data