School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA, UK.
Qual Life Res. 2012 May;21(4):707-16. doi: 10.1007/s11136-011-9967-7. Epub 2011 Jul 9.
Dental conditions have the potential to impact negatively on children's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). However, little attempt has been made to investigate how psychosocial variables and significant life events affect children's OHRQoL. This research aimed to explore how children's dental status, coping, and self-esteem influenced OHRQoL during transition to secondary school.
All patients were undergoing treatment at a UK Dental Hospital. Self-report questionnaires obtained psychosocial data on self-esteem, coping styles and OHRQoL and were completed by children 3 months prior to secondary school entry and 3 months following educational transition. Data were extracted from the clinical records of the paediatric patients who agreed to participate in the research.
A total of 92 children aged between 10 and 11 years participated at baseline (43% response rate) and 71 of these children participated in the follow-up investigation (77% response rate). Multiple lagged regression analyses revealed that clinical variables and children's self-perception of their physical appearance were significant predictors of OHRQoL following transition to secondary school.
Children who were satisfied with their physical appearance reported fewer impacts on their OHRQoL. The mechanisms through which this domain of self-esteem impacts on OHRQoL warrants further investigation.
牙齿状况有可能对儿童的口腔健康相关生活质量（OHRQoL）产生负面影响。然而，很少有人试图研究社会心理变量和重大生活事件如何影响儿童的 OHRQoL。本研究旨在探讨儿童的牙齿状况、应对方式和自尊如何在进入中学时影响 OHRQoL。
所有患者均在英国一家牙科医院接受治疗。自我报告问卷获取了自尊、应对方式和 OHRQoL 的社会心理数据，并在进入中学前 3 个月和教育过渡后 3 个月由儿童填写。从同意参与研究的儿科患者的临床记录中提取数据。
共有 92 名年龄在 10 至 11 岁之间的儿童在基线时参与（响应率为 43%），其中 71 名儿童参与了随访调查（响应率为 77%）。多项滞后回归分析显示，临床变量和儿童对自己外貌的自我感知是中学过渡后 OHRQoL 的重要预测因素。
对自己的外貌感到满意的儿童报告对其 OHRQoL 的影响较小。自尊这一领域影响 OHRQoL 的机制值得进一步研究。
