Initial Structural Validity and Internal Consistency of the MKAB-OH-S Scale for Oral Health in Andean Schoolchildren
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/vtfs8p83Keywords:
Bilingualism; Cultural characteristics; Dental caries; Health knowledge; Attitudes; Practice; Oral health; Rural population; Students.Abstract
This study aimed to provide initial psychometric evidence of structural validity and internal consistency of the Measurement of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Regarding Oral Health in Schoolchildren Scale (MKAB-OH-S), developed in Spanish for Andean bilingual schoolchildren. Following a pilot test with 30 students, the scale was administered to 227 schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 years. Content validity indices indicated high expert agreement, with item-level I-CVI values ranging from 0.89 to 1.00 and Aiken’s V confidence intervals between 0.80 and 1.00. At the scale level, the average I-CVI was 0.9925 and Aiken’s V was 0.966 (95% CI: 0.915-1.00). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the unidimensional structure of each scale dimensión, with satisfactory model fit indices. Internal consistency was acceptable to excellent across dimensions, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.65 for knowledge, 0.91 for attitudes, and 0.73 for behaviors, alongside consistent McDonald’s omega and AVE values. The attitudes dimension demonstrated the strongest psychometric performance, followed by behaviors and knowledge. Overall, the results provide initial evidence supporting the structural coherence and internal consistency of the MKAB-OH-S scale for use in similar bilingual school settings. Further studies in broader and more diverse populations are recommended to strengthen evidence of stability and generalizability.
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