Parental Attitudes towards Child Oral Health and Their Structural Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID15716457
AuthorsApolinaras Zaborskis (0000-0001-6518-2237, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, corresponding author), Jaunė Razmienė (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences), Augustė Razmaitė (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences), Vilija Andruškevičienė (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences), Julija Narbutaité (0000-0002-5156-3861, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences), Eglė Aida Bendoraitienė (0000-0001-9743-1293, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences), Aistė Kavaliauskienė (0000-0003-0013-153X, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences)
Year2024
Volume11
Issue3
Pages333-333
Publication date2024-03-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueChildren (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-9067 • E-ISSN: 2227-9067
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/children11030333
PMID38539368
OpenAlexW4392662105
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited29

The relationship between parental attitudes towards health and child development has been a topic of interest for many years; however, research results in this field are still inconsistent. This study aimed to develop a structural equation model of the Parental Attitudes toward Child Oral Health (PACOH) scale, using this model to analyse the relationship between parental attitudes with demographic variables and the oral health-related behaviour of parents and children. A total of 302 parents (87% mothers) answered questions regarding their own and their children's, aged 4-7 years, oral health-related actions and completed the 38-item PACOH scale. The structural equation model indicated that parental attitudes captured by the PACOH scale can be fitted to a second-order factorial model, even with the scale shortened to 21 items. The model demonstrated good fit characteristics (CFI = 0.925; IFI = 0.927; GFI = 0.915; RMSEA = 0.049), making it a reliable tool for examining the structure of parental attitudes. This model was employed in the multi-group analysis, revealing the close relationship between positive parents' attitudes towards their child's oral health and oral health-promoting behaviour both in parents and children, such as regular tooth brushing ( p p = 0.027), and parents helping their child brush his/her teeth ( p < 0.001). In light of these findings, it was concluded that Parental Attitudes towards Child Oral Health should be considered an essential factor influencing the development of oral health-promoting behaviour in children

Child health · Developmental psychology · Factorial analysis · Family medicine · Oral health · Scale (ratio · Structural equation modeling · Dental Health and Care Utilization · Health Education and Validation · Medicine · Pediatric health and respiratory diseases · Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access