title: Measuring determinants of oral health behaviour in parents of preschool children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable measure for oral health behaviour and its determinants in five-year-old Flemish children, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and to test its predictive validity.
  
  
  METHODS
  1157 parents of five-year-olds completed a questionnaire measuring three behaviours related to oral health among children (dietary habits, oral hygiene, dental attendance) and their determinants (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, intention). The sample was randomly split in two halves and principal component analyses were performed on one half sample to identify the factor structure. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the remaining half sample to obtain a cross-validation. Predictive validity was tested using multiple regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For each behaviour four component structures reflecting the TPB-dimensions, accounting for 44% to 55% of the variance were retrieved and confirmed in the cross-validation. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of the scales ranged from 0.52 to 0.80. A sizeable percentage of variance of intentions and behaviours was explained by the model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TPB components were significant predictors of intentions and behaviours. These findings argue for the reliability and validity of the questionnaire for exploring determinants underlying parental oral health behaviour.
authors.affiliation: Youth Health Care, KU Leuven, Belgium. sigrid.vandenbranden@med.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van den Branden
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van den Broucke
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Declerck
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoppenbrouwers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001530:Belgium; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult