Abstract
Purpose: To develop a Socio-Dental Impact Locus of Control Scale (SILOC) and to study its relationship with oral health status as well as dental attendance. Materials and methods: In the pilot study, 100 students returned completed forms containing the Multi Dimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) and the (SILOC) scale. In the main study, 509 adolescent school children from three schools returned completed forms containing the SILOC scale and were examined for oral health status and dental attendance. Results: The SILOC scores highly correlated with the MHLC scores. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0.75 showed its internal consistency. Those with higher SILOC scores had greater levels of caries, plaque, gingivitis, and a history of postponing needed dental visits. Multiple logistic regression analysis after adjusting for potential confounders showed that those with high SILOC scores were more likely to be having caries (OR=3.32, p<0.001), plaque (OR=1.83, p=0.026), gingivitis (OR=1.80, p=0.012) and a history of ‘Postponement of needed dental treatment’ (OR=4.5, p<0.001) as compared to the others. Conclusion: The SILOC scale showed satisfactory reliability and validity in measuring Locus of Control orientation in relation to socio-dental impacts in an Indian adolescent population.
Highlights
Health Locus of Control (HLC) is a construct that refers to how individuals perceive the sources regulating their health [1]
While numerous scales that use the socio-dental approach for needs assessment have been developed, no attempt has been made to assess the locus of control in terms of socio-dental impacts
It consisted of two parts: the pilot study for validation of the Socio-Dental Impact Locus of Control (SILOC) scale and the main study to evaluate the association between SILOC and oral health status
Summary
Health Locus of Control (HLC) is a construct that refers to how individuals perceive the sources regulating their health [1]. It is a product of Rotter’s [2] social learning theory, which states that “an individual learns on the basis of his or her history of reinforcement”. HLC studies measured these beliefs on an Internal-External axis [3]. According to Levenson’s model [4], one can endorse each of these dimensions of locus of control independently and at the same time. These three dimensions are traditionally treated as independent, studies have revealed correlations between the three factors [5,6]
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