Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences

1 Department of Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sarajevo, Bolnička 4a, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2 Department of Pedodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Gundulićeva 5, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The most frequently used measuring instrument for determination of dental fear and anxiety (DFA) in children nowadays is the Dental Subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS). In this study we wanted to explore the reliability and validity of CFSS-DS scale in Bosnian children patients' sample. There were 120 patients in the study, divided in three age groups (8, 12, and 15 years of age), with 40 patients in each group. Original CFSS-DS scale was translated into Bosnian language, and children's version of a scale was used. The high value of the Cronbach's coefficient of internal consistency (α=0.861) was found in the entire scale. Four factors were extracted by screen-test method with Eigen values higher than 1, which explained 63.79% variance of results. CFSS-DS scale is reliable and valid psychometric instrument for DFA evaluation in children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The differences between our research and those of others may appear due to many factors.