Turkish version of the faces version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDASf): translation, reliability, and validity.

Abstract

To cross-culturally adapt of MCDASf into Turkish and to evaluate reliability and validity of the Turkish version of MCDASf using explorative factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to form a less time consuming and easy to understand tool for measuring dental anxiety. A total of 300 children (174 females, 126 males) aged 6-12 years who were recruited at the Department of Paediatric Dentistry in RTEU at the first visit participated in the present study. For the internal consistency reliability, Cronbach's alpha was calculated. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for test-retest reliability (n=67). Construct validity was determined by comparing with the Venham Picture Test (VPT). The factor structure was examined using EFA. CFA was used for dimensionality. The cut-off points of the Turkish version of MCDASf were plotted using a ROC curve. The Turkish version of MCDASf showed high internal consistency (0.703) and an excellent ICC value (0.827). Good correlations were found between the global scores of MCDASf and VPT (r=0.632). Three factors were identified from EFA and verified with CFA. Discriminant validity was supported by high scores of females and younger children (p<0.05). The cut-off point was assigned as >24.50. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.921 (95% CI: 0.873-0.969). The Turkish version of the MCDASf is a reliable and valid scale that satisfied psychometric properties. The Turkish version of MCDASf is a usable tool for the measurement of dental anxiety among Turkish speaking children.