Psychometric validation of instruments measuring emotional stress and self-esteem in a dental patient population

Abstract

Background. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are becoming more popular in dental research for measuring various psychological aspects of patients’ experiences. However, it is essential to validate these measures’ properties based on the setting where they are applied. This study aims to validate the Romanian versions of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale (RSES) for adult dental patients.

Methods. This is a prospective study for psychometric validation of PROMs for adult dental patients conducted at the Department of Preventive Dentistry, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Internal consistency, structural validity, and construct validity were assessed for these PROMs. Responsiveness was evaluated based on pre-post comparisons during routine dental visits.

Results. The RSES showed high internal consistency reliability for adult dental patients (α = 0.77-0.80), whereas K10 showed excellent internal consistency reliability (α = 0.91). Furthermore, it was found that psychological distress was related to affective pain but not sensory pain, whereas self-esteem was not related to any of these measures. Both instruments showed responsiveness across clinical time points.

Conclusions. The Romanian versions of K10 and RSES showed satisfactory psychometric properties for adult dental patients and could potentially be useful for psychosocial research in dentistry.