A preliminary investigation of the relationship of dental fear to other specific fears, general fearfulness, disgust sensitivity and harm sensitivity

Objectives: People with dental fear often suffer from other psychological disorders, as well as from a number of other specific fears. Fear of going to the dentist may be associated not only with general fearfulness, but also with underlying personality dispositions. This exploratory study, therefore, investigated the associations between dental fear and 67 other specific fears, general fearfulness, disgust sensitivity and harm sensitivity. Methods: Participants were 88 Australian adults who were administered the Fear Survey Schedule III (FSS-III), the Harm Sensitivity Index and the Disgust Sensitivity Index. Principle axis factor analysis with Promax rotation was used to examine how dental fear related to other specific fears as measured with the FSS-III. Results: Dental fear was significantly correlated with most of the other specific fears, with factor analysis indicating that it tended to load more with fears related to lack of control rather than with what have often been classed as 'medical' fears. Significant associations were found between dental fear and the personality dispositions of general fearfulness, harm sensitivity and disgust sensitivity, although these associations were not linear. Conclusions: Findings reveal extensive co-occurrence of other specific fears with dental fear, while the associations of dental fear with personality traits suggest enduring aspects to dental fear which may translate into difficulties in fear alleviation. Dental fear was more related to a diverse range of fears relating to a loss of control than to medical-specific fears.