Psychometric properties of the modified dental anxiety scale: an independent replication.

AIM: To estimate the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant and concurrent validity of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS).

METHOD: Survey of a cohort of 135 dental patients in three equal groups (non-anxious; treated anxious; highly anxious). The average age of the total sample was 39.2 years (SD = 13.21), 101 patients (75%) were female. All patients were asked to complete the MDAS, together with the brief form (six items) of the Speilberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Thirty-three participants completed the MDAS on a second occasion 2-3 months after the first testing session.

FINDINGS: The MDAS is highly internally consistent (Cronbach alpha = 0.93) and shows good reliability over time (Intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.93). The MDAS was found to discriminate between the three groups of participants defined by self-reported anxiety level, and correlates highly with the Speilberger Trait Anxiety Inventory.

CONCLUSIONS: The MDAS is a highly consistent and reliable measure which has good discriminant and concurrent validity.