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Personality factors, demographic variables, and indexes of periodontal disease in normal, community‐dwelIing males
Author(s) -
GARVEY ARTHUR J.,
DOUGLASS CHESTER W.,
CHAUNCEY HOWARD H.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.1986.tb00988.x
Subject(s) - medicine , periodontal disease , personality , extraversion and introversion , big five personality traits , disease , anxiety , clinical attachment loss , marital status , clinical psychology , dentistry , psychiatry , environmental health , psychology , social psychology , population
SUMMARY The present study examined the interrelationships of personality traits and six periodontal health status measures in 550 adult males, aged 29 to 74, who are participants in an ongoing longitudinal study of oral health and aging. Personality characteristics were assessed using Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, and periodontal health status was evaluated through the measurement of the following variables: plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, calculus deposition, periodontal pocket depth, alveolar bone loss, and tooth mobility. A series of multiple regression analyses indicated that the personality traits of anxiety and extroversion had minimal associations with these periodontal disease indexes. Intelligence was weakly associated (inversely) with periodontal disease status. The best predictors of periodontal status were age and education, but these demographic variables accounted for, at most, only 12% of the variance in disease status. Other factors, such as hormonal imbalance, nutritional status, and cigarette smoking habits need to be included in multivariate models to develop a better understanding of interrelationships among factors related to periodontal disease.