Usefulness of a psychometric questionnaire in exploring parental attitudes in children's dental care

In this methodological study we investigated the usefulness and reliability of a questionnaire designed to capture 4 aspects of parental dental attitudes: dental knowledge, child oral health behavior, perceived importance of dental related aims, and parental responsibility. The study was undertaken in a group of 140 parents of schoolchildren aged 8-12 years from four comprehensive schools in Sweden. Test-retest reliability, quantified by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) or by Cohen's kappa, varied from acceptable to excellent for different aspects of the questionnaire. The knowledge and responsibility-taking sections were also answered by a group of dental experts who showed a high level of internal agreement. Expert profiles, to which the parental assessments could be compared, were created. Exploration of the 4 aspects showed that this group of parents commonly had a multifocal view on the etiology and prevention of caries. Correlations between their knowledge assessments and the assessments made by the expert group varied from moderately negative to strongly positive. The parents revealed a high degree of dental-related motivation and responsibility, particularly according to oral health behaviors. In conclusion, the results indicate that this 4-part psychometric questionnaire might be a suitable instrument in investigations of priority and responsibility-taking as new aspects of parental dental attitudes, along with dental knowledge and child oral health behaviors.