title: Psychometric properties of the faces version of the Malay-modified child dental anxiety scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To evaluate the psychometric properties of the faces version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDASf) Malay version in 5-6 and 9-12 year-old children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The MCDASf was cross culturally adapted from English into Malay. The Malay version was tested for reliability and validity in 3 studies. In the Study 1, to determine test-retest reliability of MCDASf scale, 166 preschool children aged 5-6 years were asked to rank orders five cartoons faces depicting emotions from 'very happy' to 'very sad' faces on two separate occasions 3 weeks apart. A total of 87 other 5-6 year-old children completed the Malay-MCDASf on two separate occasions 3 weeks apart to determine test-retest reliability for Study 2. In study 3, 239 schoolchildren aged 9-12 years completed the Malay-MCDASf and the Malay-Dental Subscale of the Children Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS) at the same sitting to determine the criterion and construct validity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In study 1, Kendall W test showed a high degree of concordance in ranking the cartoon faces picture cards on each of the 2 occasions (time 1, W = 0.955 and time 2, W = 0.954). The Malay-MCDASf demonstrated moderate test-retest reliability (Intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.63, p <0.001) and acceptable internal consistency for all the 6 items (Cronbach's alpha = 0.77) and 8 items (Cronbach's alpha = 0.73). The highest MCDASf scores were observed for the items 'injection in the gum' and 'tooth taken out' for both age groups. The MCDASf significantly correlated with the CFSS-DS (Pearson r = 0.67, p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These psychometric findings support for the inclusion of a cartoon faces rating scale to assess child dental anxiety and the Malay-MCDASf is a reliable and valid measure of dental anxiety in 5-12 year-old children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Oral Health & Clinical Prevention, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. rashidah@um.edu.my.|Community Oral Health Research Group, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. rashidah@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Rashidah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Esa
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Division, Ministry of Health, Pitas, Sabah, Malaysia. atikah_ng@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Noratikah Awang
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Hashim
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Division, Ministry of Health, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. dryuliana87@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Yuliana
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ayob
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Oral Health & Clinical Prevention, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. zamros@um.edu.my.|Community Oral Health Research Group, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. zamros@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Zamros Yuzadi Mohd
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Yusof
mesh_terms: D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000523:psychology; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000523:psychology; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000523:psychology; D002359:Cartoons as Topic; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000523:psychology; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000523:psychology; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000523:psychology; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000523:psychology; D014175:Translating