The Reliability and Validity of Dental Indifference Scale among Romanian Young Adults

Abstract

The study aimed at examining the reliability and the validity of the Dental Indifference Scale (DIS), which measures the significant undervaluing attitude towards the state of one’s oral health. The study has a cross-sectional design in which 660 young Romanian adults (Meanage = 30.69; 30.30% males) completed an online survey in which the Dental Indifference Scale was included alongside five items related to one’s behavior towards oral health. The reliability was calculated by means of internal consistency and test-retest after two or three weeks. The DIS scores were associated with the questions regarding oral health habits. Although DIS is discriminatory regarding the behavior towards oral hygiene (brushing, flossing) and diet, the reliability of the scale is low (α = 0.37; ω = 0.39; Intraclass correlation coefficienttest-retest = 0.60). In comparison with prior research, no gender differences were found. In exchange, the scores for dental indifference (DI) are significantly different when it comes to comparing people with secondary education and people who are university graduates. The study shows that DIS needs to be used with caution and only with other instruments that evaluate attitudes and behaviors related to oral health which passed the test of validation in various cultural models, the Romanian one included.