Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• McNeil, Daniel W.
• Randall, Cameron L.
• Cohen, Lindsey L.
• Crout, Richard J.
• Weyant, Robert J.
• Neiswanger, Katherine
• Marazita, Mary L.

Titel

Transmission of dental fear from parent to adolescent in an Appalachian sample in the USA

Ist Teil von

• International journal of paediatric dentistry, 2019-11, Vol.29 (6), p.720-727

Ort / Verlag

England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

Wiley Online Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background Dental fear/anxiety is associated with numerous negative outcomes. State dental fear is known to be transmitted from parents to their children in the dental setting, but it is not known how trait fear/anxiety might be shared between parents and offspring long term, and especially for adolescents. Aim This study aimed to: (a) compare dental fear levels of adolescents and their parents; (b) predict adolescent dental fear based on demographic variables, fear of pain, and parental dental fear; and, (c) determine relative contributions of mothers' and fathers' dental fear to adolescent fear. Design In this cross‐sectional study, the Dental Fear Survey and Fear of Pain Questionnaire‐9 were administered to 350 adolescents (age range 11‐17) and 515 of their parents, with t test and ANOVA used to calculate between‐group differences; multiple linear regression was used to predict adolescent fear from parent fear. Results Adolescents' dental fear was predicted by their own fear of pain and their parents' dental fear, but not their parents' fear of pain nor their own age or gender. When considered together, fathers' but not mothers' dental fear predicted adolescents' dental fear. Conclusions Parents' fears/anxieties about dentistry are associated with adolescents' dental fear in a manner suggestive of intergenerational transmission.