Optimism-pessimism dimension and dental anxiety in children aged 10-12 years

This study explored the relationships between Previous Dental Experience (PDE), Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS), the Dental Anxiety Question (DAQ), dispositional optimism as measured by the Life Orientation Test (LOT), and Clinical Behavioral Rating (CBR). The main purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the possible usefulness of the optimism-pessimism dimension in predicting clinical dental anxiety. 163 children aged 10-12 yr participated in the investigation. The results indicate that both self-reported dental anxiety and optimism-pessimism were unique contributers to prediction of behavioral ratings of dental anxiety.