Psychometric Properties of the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey

Objectives: The objectives of this pair of studies were to examine the internal reliability, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey.

Methods: A total of 108 college students completed two questionnaires containing the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey, as well as the Revised Iowa Dental Control Index, and Desirability of Control scales. As part of another experiment, 141 study participants with dental injection phobia completed the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey and the Dental Anxiety Scale.

Results: Both the internal and test-retest reliabilities of the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey were high. The measure demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validities.

Conclusion: The Revised Dental Beliefs Survey is well-suited for use with clinical and nonclinical populations, in which a stable and valid measure of perceptions of the dental situation is desired.