Factor Extraction and Factor Structure of the
Oral Hygiene Beliefs Questionnaire
All initial communalities were ≥ .30, while 84.2% of them
were > .50. Four factors with initial eigenvalues greater than
1 were extracted, accounting for 71.9% of the variance. Subsequently,
a principal axis factoring with promax rotation
was performed. The results indicated that the four-factor solution
explained 64.4% of the total variance. Fifteen items
were single-loading items (loading > .32 in absolute value
on one factor and ≤ .32 on other factors), highly loaded
on their designated factor and were assigned to it (Table 1).
Four items were cross-loading items (loading > .32 on more
than one factors) with salient secondary loadings, and were
assigned to the factor with the highest loading.
After rearranging the items, the first factor, accounting
for 41.7% of the variance, comprised 6 items pertaining to
perceived susceptibility and barriers (eg, “My chances of
getting tooth decay, because I do not brush my teeth regularly,
are great”). The second factor, explaining 11.5% of the
variance, consisted of 6 items that indicated self-efficacy (eg,
“I am confident that I can brush my teeth twice a day even
when I amvery busywithwork”). The third factor, explaining
6.4% of the variance, being composed of 3 items, appeared
to reflect perceived benefits (eg, “Brushing my teeth helps
prevent bleeding gums”). The fourth factor, explaining 4.8%
of the variance, included 4 items concerned with perceived
severity (eg, “Dental problems, caused by not brushing my
teeth, can be serious”).