Self-reported racism and experience of toothache among pregnant Aboriginal Australians: The role of perceived stress, sense of control, and social support

Abstract

Objectives We hypothesized that the psychosocial factors perceived stress and sense of personal control mediated the relationship between self-reported racism and experience of toothache. We hypothesized that social support moderated this relationship. Methods Data from 365 pregnant Aboriginal Australian women were used to evaluate experience of toothache, socio-demographic factors, psychosocial factors, general health, risk behaviors, and self-reported racism exposure. Hierarchical logistic regression models estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) for experience of toothache. Perceived stress and sense of personal control were examined as mediators of the assoc..