The Application of Structural Equation Modeling in the Investigation of Factors Affecting the Dental Caries Index of Children

Abstract

Structural equation modeling is a class of multivariate statistical methods that combines the dimensions of factor analysis and regression to enable researchers to simultaneously examine the relationships betweenvariables. This method has not been used in dental research until now. The purpose of this article is to determine the effect of parents' knowledge, attitude, and performance on their children's dental caries with the mediation of sugar consumption using this method.Materials & Methods:In this analytical observational study, questionnaires of parents' knowledge, attitude, and performance were completed among 385 people of Tabriz city in February and March 2023. These questionnaires are based on previous research and made by researchers. Partial Least Square with Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the research hypotheses (α = 0.01).Results:According to the results of statistical analysis, the effect of "parental awareness", "parental performance" and "children's consumption of sugary substances" on "tooth decay index" and also the effect of "parental awareness", "parental attitude" and "parental performance" on " The consumption of sugary substances by children" is significant at the level of 0.01 (p value 0.05).Conclusion:In this study, it was shown that the knowledge, attitude and performance of parents have a significant effect on the tooth decay index through the variable of consumption of sugary substances

Keywords

• dmfindex
• structural equation modeling
• attitude
• performance