Evaluation of the factors that cause stress in dentistry students in pedodontics clinic

Aim: This study aims to develop a new scale that will evaluate the stress factors in the pedodontics clinic and to determine the stress factors and level that dental students' experienced with the effect of their own personality traits. Material and Method: 4th and 5th-grade students in Inonu University Faculty of Dentistry were included in the study. Factors that may be a source of stress in the pedodontics clinic were categorized by taking expert opinions, and the PPS scale was developed with 4 dimensions and 29 items. The data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0, AMOS 23.0 programs. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyzes, Cronbach α reliability coefficient, content validity index methods were used. T-test and ANOVA test were used to test whether there is any difference between the participants according to demographic characteristics using the PPS scale. Results: Forthe PPS scale, the CFA fit index values were χ2/df 2.295, RMSEA 0.072, GFI 0.958, CFI 0.939, and IFI 0.941. The Cronbach α reliability coefficient was 0.915 and the cut-off point was 71.5 points. The valid and reliable PPS scale and the STAI were administered to 200 students together. Students reported high stress levels for all dimensions of the PPS scale. It was observed that females were more stressful than males and 4th-grades were more stressful than 5th-grades. Conclusion: PPS scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool. The pedodontics clinic contains many high-level stress factors for dental students. Conducting researches to reduce the stress on students will provide a more efficient and healthy educational environment.