Factors related to children’s caries: a structural equation modeling approach

BMC Public Health

Table 1 Frequency distribution of the observed categorical variables

Latent variables	Observed variables	n	%
SES	Mother’s education
	≤ high school graduated	727	54.6
	≥ college graduated	605	45.4
	Mother’s occupation
	Unemployed	248	18.6
	Employee/non-professional	794	59.6
	Employer/professional	290	21.8
	Father’s education
	≤ high school graduated	677	50.8
	≥ college graduated	655	49.2
	Father’s occupation
	Unemployed	52	3.9
	Employee/non-professional	846	63.5
	Employer/professional	434	32.6
	Family monthly income (per-capital)
	< 2000 RMB	262	19.7
	2000-4999 RMB	546	41
	≥5000 RMB	524	39.3
Caregivers’ oral health practices	Caregivers’ frequencies of sugary snack intake
	≥ once/day	499	37.5
	< once/day	833	62.5
	Caregivers’ frequencies of toothbrushing
	≤ once/day	405	30.4
	≥ twice/day	927	69.6
Children’s oral health practices	Children’s frequencies of sugary snack intake
	≥ once/day	661	49.6
	< once/day	671	50.4
	Children’s frequencies of toothbrushing
	≤ once/day	896	67.3
	≥ twice/day	436	32.7
	Age of beginning to brush teeth
	≥ 4 yrs old	394	29.6
	3 yrs old	473	35.5
	≤ 2 yrs old	465	34.9
Children’s dental insurance	Children’s dental insurance
	No	1056	79.3
	Yes	276	20.7
Children’s dental service utilization	Children’s dental service utilization
	No	923	69.3
	Yes	409	30.7

ISSN: 1471-2458