title: Knowledge, attitudes and behavior of Italian mothers towards oral health: questionnaire validation and results of a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study is focused on the analysis of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of Italian mothers in regards to their oral health, deepening the understanding of how the initiation of habits and behaviors for a healthy lifestyle may influence the empowerment process of their children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The questionnaire was composed by 14 sections and has been conducted using an online questionnaire on the mothers association's website. Reliability analysis was tested and content validity was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha to check internal consistency with the intention to obtain no misunderstanding results. Statistical analysis was performed through SPSS 19.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of the compiled questionnaires was 192. The highest value of the Cronbach's alpha is obtainable in Section 13 (Quality of Life in relation to dental health between 8-17 years old kids) with a value of 0.998 (on 5 items). The total value of the Cronbach's alpha considering the part of questionnaire dedicated only to the mothers that have more than 18 years old children is 0.490 on 116 items. Considering all the sections of the questionnaire on 134 items and 127 questions, we get an alpha value of 0.784.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The questionnaire for the mothers showed a good reliability in the pilot study and it seems it made good results in terms of internal coherence and validity. The online administration allowed the opportunity to optimize the data collection avoiding complications with papers and it offers potentially, a tool able to rapidly gather a vast sample in which to perfect other studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianna Maria
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Nardi
authors.forename: Guglielmo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giraldi
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lastella
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: La Torre
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saugo
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferri
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pacifici
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ottolenghi
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polimeni
keywords: Italian mothers; Knowledge; attitudes; behavior; oral health