Purpose of the Questionnaire

The aim of the questionnaire is to reveal dental patients’ perceptions regarding dentist-patient relationships and to measure the differences between phobic and non-phobic patients.

Analysis

The [EROS-36] questionnaire, developed by Aravou in 2008, consists of 36 items distributed across four conceptual dimensions:
Dentist-patient communication
Management of patient anxiety
Bioethics
Dentist competence
The items express both supportive and critical views toward patients and dentists.

Scoring and Statistical Analysis

Scoring is based on fear level, which is measured on a scale from 5 to 25. A person scoring between 19–25 is considered phobic.
The questionnaire was translated and standardized for the Greek population by oral surgeon Aravou (2008). Items are rated using a seven-point Guttman scale, where 1 represents complete disagreement and 7 represents complete agreement with the given statement.
During statistical processing, negatively worded items are reverse-coded so that all items are aligned in direction. This allows for meaningful comparison, addition, or subtraction as needed for the formation of dependent variable values (Katerelos, 2001).

Validity and Reliability

The EROS questionnaire demonstrates apparent (face) validity. The internal consistency reliability is satisfactory, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.78.

References

Aravou, S. (2008). Influence Processes in Dentally Phobic and Non-Phobic Patients.
Makri, Ch. (2019). Psychosocial Characteristics of Phobic Patients in the Dental Office.