| Despite the technological advances reducing the tissue damage and suffering associated with dentistry, dental anxiety remains a significant problem. Patients must regularly attend appointments in order for preventive care to be effective. Yet this is a challenging prospect for patients who have significant dental anxiety. Research in the domain of dental anxiety has flourished in recent years, but the underlying nature of the construct has yet to be clarified. Within the present study, the main objectives were: (1) to investigate the effect of coping style by directed coping strategy compatibility on dental patients' self-efficacy with regard to coping during a dental hygiene procedure, (2) to compare two different instruments for assessing coping style in dental patients, (3) to examine cognitive and affective differences in participants with different coping styles, and (4) to investigate the relationships of dental self-efficacy, anxiety sensitivity, and fear of pain with dental anxiety.; The results from the present study revealed no significant differences in pain, anxiety or dental SE associated with a particular coping style, assigning a particular coping strategy, or matching the assigned coping strategy with a participant's coping style. This was inconsistent with reports form other researchers (e.g., Litt, Nye, & Schaefer, 1993, 1995) and possibly a consequence of participants' perceiving only minimal pain during the dental hygiene procedure. The analyses comparing coping style classification by the Monitoring Blunting Style Scale (Miller & Manigan, 1983) and the Iowa Dental Control Index (Logan & Baron, 1987) were inconclusive. The results of a Chi-squared analysis suggested that the systems were comparable, but Spearman correlations failed to reveal a statistically significant relationship between the relevant indices. Inconsistent with the report by Litt, Kalinowski, and Schaefer (1999), no differences in expected pain or anxiety were revealed between Monitors and Blunters. Litt (1996) had speculated that positive affect might play a protective role in limiting the experience of pain. In this study, however, positive affect was not linked with lower pain or anxiety reports by dental patients.; Empirically, findings from the linear regressions into dental anxiety are important as a replication of previous investigations of the relationships of anxiety sensitivity, fear of pain, and dental SE. The results from the present study also provide cross-cultural validation for previous reports by de Jong (et al., 1993, 1994), ter Horst and de Witt (1993), and Gross (1992a) who have been attempting to describe the nature of dental anxiety. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
