Quinonez R, Santos R G, Wilson S, Cross H
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Pediatr Dent. 2001 Jan-Feb;23(1):5-10.
Among the potential risk factors associated with nursing caries/baby bottle tooth decay--a subset of Early Childhood Caries (ECC)--is a "strong-tempered" behavioral style in the child. However, the few empirical studies that have investigated this description remain controversial. The research goal of this study was to operationalize the "strong-tempered" profile and investigate its association to parental feeding practices and ECC levels.
In an observational-correlational study design, 58 children (ASA I), ages 18 to 70 months (M = 43 months, SD = 17), were reliably assessed for ECC levels by a clinical evaluator. A second evaluator, blind to ECC status, interviewed parents using a demographic survey, a feeding practices measure, and the EAS Temperament Survey for Children.
Multiple regression analyses indicated that none of the four temperament factors (Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Shyness) significantly predicted duration of feeding habit defined as the length of time in months that the child breast or bottle fed, whichever lasted the longest. However, the combination of greater duration of feeding habit and higher levels of Shyness predicted all three measures of ECC: the presence or absence of caries (r2 = .19, P < .001), the number of carious teeth (r2 = .23, P < .001) and the number of carious surfaces (r2 = .21, P < .001). Furthermore, the addition of Native status significantly increased the predictive value of all of three models (r2 = .37, r2 = .43, r2 = .29, respectively, Ps < .0001).
Temperament did not predict the duration of feeding habit but together, shyness and duration of feeding habit was associated with ECC.
在与奶瓶龋（即幼儿龋的一个子集）相关的潜在风险因素中，儿童“脾气倔强”的行为方式是其中之一。然而，为数不多的针对这一描述进行调查的实证研究仍存在争议。本研究的目标是对“脾气倔强”的特征进行操作化定义，并研究其与父母喂养方式及幼儿龋水平之间的关联。
在一项观察性关联研究设计中，由一名临床评估员对58名年龄在18至70个月（平均年龄43个月，标准差17）的儿童（美国麻醉医师协会身体状况分级I级）的幼儿龋水平进行可靠评估。另一名对幼儿龋状况不知情的评估员通过一份人口统计学调查问卷、一项喂养方式测量工具以及儿童气质调查问卷对家长进行访谈。
多元回归分析表明，四个气质因素（情绪性、活动性、社交性和害羞性）均未显著预测喂养习惯的持续时间，喂养习惯持续时间定义为儿童母乳喂养或奶瓶喂养持续时间最长者的月数。然而，喂养习惯持续时间较长与较高水平的害羞性相结合，可预测幼儿龋的所有三项指标：是否存在龋齿（r² = 0.19，P < 0.001）、龋齿数量（r² = 0.23，P < 0.001）以及龋面数量（r² = 0.21，P < 0.001）。此外，加入原住民身份后，所有三个模型的预测价值均显著提高（分别为r² = 0.37、r² = 0.43、r² = 0.29，P < 0.0001）。
气质并不能预测喂养习惯的持续时间，但害羞性与喂养习惯持续时间共同与幼儿龋相关。
