Background: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the faces version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety\nScale (MCDASf) Malay version in 5ââ?¬â??6 and 9ââ?¬â??12 year-old children.\nMethods: The MCDASf was cross culturally adapted from English into Malay. The Malay version was tested for\nreliability and validity in 3 studies. In the Study 1, to determine test-retest reliability of MCDASf scale, 166 preschool\nchildren aged 5ââ?¬â??6 years were asked to rank orders five cartoons faces depicting emotions from ââ?¬Ë?very happyââ?¬â?¢ to\nââ?¬Ë?very sadââ?¬â?¢ faces on two separate occasions 3 weeks apart. A total of 87 other 5ââ?¬â??6 year-old children completed the\nMalay-MCDASf on two separate occasions 3 weeks apart to determine test-retest reliability for Study 2. In study 3,\n239 schoolchildren aged 9ââ?¬â??12 years completed the Malay-MCDASf and the Malay-Dental Subscale of the Children\nFear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS) at the same sitting to determine the criterion and construct validity.\nResults: In study 1, Kendall W test showed a high degree of concordance in ranking the cartoon faces picture\ncards on each of the 2 occasions (time 1, W = 0.955 and time 2, W = 0.954). The Malay-MCDASf demonstrated\nmoderate test-retest reliability (Intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.63, p <0.001) and acceptable internal consistency\nfor all the 6 items (Cronbachââ?¬â?¢s alpha = 0.77) and 8 items (Cronbachââ?¬â?¢s alpha = 0.73). The highest MCDASf scores were\nobserved for the items ââ?¬Ë?injection in the gumââ?¬â?¢ and ââ?¬Ë?tooth taken outââ?¬â?¢ for both age groups. The MCDASf significantly\ncorrelated with the CFSS-DS (Pearson r = 0.67, p < 0.001).\nConclusions: These psychometric findings support for the inclusion of a cartoon faces rating scale to assess child\ndental anxiety and the Malay-MCDASf is a reliable and valid measure of dental anxiety in 5ââ?¬â??12 year-old children.
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