Stress and its association with academic performance among dental undergraduate students in Fujian, China: a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the amount and sources of stress in dental undergraduate students in Fujian, China, and the factors associated with stress. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during the second semester of the 2017-2018 academic year at the School of Stomatology, Fujian Medical University, China. A total of 396 students were surveyed with the Dental Environment Stress Questionnaire (DES) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) using an online survey system. The participants\u27 demographic information, including sex, age, year of study, and grade point average (GPA) was also collected. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare the stress scores. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the associated factors of stress and academic performance. All statistical analyses were performed at a significance level of 5%. Results: A total of 347 undergraduate students participated in the present study, for a response rate of 87.6%. There were no significant differences in the DES and PSS total scores among students of different grades and sexes. Significant differences were found in the DES "workload" and "self-efficacy beliefs" scores among students from different study years (all P < 0.05). The Multiple linear regression showed that DES and PSS scores were negatively correlated with GPA, while sex was positively correlated with GPA (all P < 0.05). Female students had significantly higher GPAs than male students. Conclusions: Dental undergraduates in Fujian, China experienced moderate levels of stress. While the amount of stress did not differ by year of study, the sources of stress did differ. Stress scores and sex were negatively correlated with academic performance

UK population norms for the modified dental anxiety scale with percentile calculator : adult dental health survey 2009 results

Background: A recent UK population survey of oral health included questions to assess dental anxiety to provide mean and prevalence estimates of this important psychological construct. Methods: A two-stage cluster sample was used for the survey across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The survey took place between October-December 2009, and January-April 2010. All interviewers were trained on survey procedures. Within the 7,233 households sampled there were 13,509 adults who were asked to participate in the survey and 11,382 participated (84%). Results: The scale was reliable and showed some evidence of unidimensionality. Estimated proportion of participants with high dental anxiety (cut-off score = 19) was 11.6%. Percentiles and confidence intervals were presented and can be estimated for individual patients across various age ranges and gender using an on-line tool. Conclusions: The largest reported data set on the MDAS from a representative UK sample was presented. The scale’s psychometrics is supportive for the routine assessment of patient dental anxiety to compare against a number of major demographic groups categorised by age and sex. Practitioners within the UK have a resource to estimate the rarity of a particular patient’s level of dental anxiety, with confidence intervals, when using the on-line percentile calculator.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe