Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Short-term improvement in oral self-care of adolescents with social-cognitive theory-guided intervention
1NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Ayr, Scotland, UK and the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Design:
Cluster randomised controlled trial.
Intervention:
Clusters of adolescents (classrooms of 15- to 16-year-olds) in each school were allocated either into a control group or into an intervention group. The interventions consisted of peer cooperation (peer support) and peer interactive learning (observational learning) facilitated through feedback from a dentist (professional support). Three intervention sessions with preselected pairs of adolescents were delivered in the first three weeks. Gender, family socio-economic status (baseline) and different social-cognitive domain variables (baseline, six, and 12 months) were assessed using a questionnaire.
Outcome Measure:
Dental plaque levels were the primary outcome measure and they were measured at baseline, after the intervention measured only in the social-cognitive theory-guided group, at six and 12 months.
Results:
At the six-month follow-up there was a statistically significant difference in means ± SD between the social-cognitive intervention group (27.4 ± 19.4) and the control group (35.1 ± 20.0). At the 12-month follow-up, there was no statistically significant difference in means ± SD between the social-cognitive intervention group (27.4 ± 18.5) and the control group (31.9 ± 17.8). Variations in dental plaque levels at different time periods were explained by the following predictors: family's socio-economic status, social-cognitive domain variables, group affiliation and baseline plaque levels.
Conclusions:
Social-cognitive theory-guided interventions improved oral self-care of adolescents in the short term. This improvement lasted only for five months after the intervention was discontinued.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Operant Conditioning Intervention
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
Modeling in Therapy
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in...
Assessment of the Mouth
Mouth Inspection
The inspection begins with visually examining the mouth for symmetry, color, and size.
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other
