Health Locus of Control as Predictor of Dental Anxiety: Dental Patients at University College Hospital in Ibadan.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Oyeleke, Johnson Tunde; Kehinde, Ojewumi Aderemi
- Source
- Journal of Pan African Studies. Apr2016, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p129-143. 15p.
- Subject
- *FEAR of dentists
*PATIENTS
*UNIVERSITY hospitals
*HEALTH education
- Language
- ISSN
- 0888-6601
Anxiety among dental patients has become a worrisome health issue associated with a farreaching negative implication on general well-being. This study therefore investigated health locus of control as predictor of anxiety among dental patients at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. The study utilised a cross-sectional research design; data was gathered using a self-report questionnaire with a total of 338 randomly selected dental patients attending dental clinic at the University College Hospital participated in the study. 199 (58.9%) were females and 139 (41.1%) were males; the mean age was 39 year. The hypotheses generated were all tested using inferential statistics; and the results showed that dental patients with external locus of control scored significantly higher on dental anxiety than dental patients with internal locus of control. The study concludes that locus of control predicted dental anxiety, and that there was a significant difference in dental anxiety as a result of the locus of control among dental patients. And finally, the implications and recommendations of the findings were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]