June 2006

Objectives: This study investigates the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Dental Cognitions Questionnaire (DCQ), especially evolved for the purpose. Study Design: The DCQ was administered to a total of 1,266 Kuwait University undergraduate students, 348 males and 918 females, achieving high internal consistency (alpha = .87). Results: Factor analysis resulted in the selection of eight factors each for males and females from the DCQ. The Arabic DCQ significantly and positively correlated with measures of dental fear (ADFI and DFS), dental anxiety (CDAS and DAST) and dental opinion (DO). Significant gender differences were observed with regard to 16 items of the DCQ. Overall, females showed greater DCQ believability than males. Conclusion: The DCQ correlates with dental fear more than dental anxiety. The study provides insights into factor structure of the Arabic Version of the DCQ, with significant correlation between scores on the DCQ and CDAS, suggesting that DCQ could be used as a reliable research tool. Key words: Arabic version, DCQ, dental anxiety, dental fear, psychometric properties, Kuwaiti undergraduates.