Exploring the Influence Mechanism of Mental Toughness on Dental Fear—A Mediation Model

牙科恐惧(Dental Fear, DF)作为一种普遍存在的心理障碍，显著阻碍患者主动寻求口腔治疗，并与口腔健康恶化及治疗拖延形成恶性循环。尽管已有研究探讨人格特质与牙科恐惧的关联，心理韧性(Mental Resilience, MR)在其间的潜在作用机制仍不明确。本研究以527名大学生为样本，整合主动拖延量表(NAPS)、心理韧性量表(CD-RISC)及牙科畏惧调查量表(DFS)，通过Bootstrap检验中介模型，分析主动拖延在心理韧性影响牙科恐惧中的作用。结果显示，心理韧性不仅直接负向预测牙科恐惧(β = −0.207, p Dental Fear (DF), as a prevalent psychological disorder, significantly hinders patients from proactively seeking dental treatment and forms a vicious cycle with deteriorating oral health and treatment delays. Although previous studies have explored the association between personality traits and dental fear, the potential mediating mechanism of Mental Resilience (MR) in this relationship remains unclear. This study investigated 527 college students using the Active Procrastination Scale (NAPS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Dental Fear Survey (DFS), and analyzed the mediating role of active procrastination in the impact of mental resilience on dental fear through Bootstrap testing for the mediation model. The results revealed that mental resilience not only directly negatively predicted dental fear (β = −0.207, p < 0.001) but also indirectly alleviated fear through the partial mediating role of active procrastination (indirect effect = −0.06, 95% CI [−0.104, −0.016]). Additionally, gender, academic major, and oral health status significantly predicted dental fear levels: females (p = 0.003), non-dental majors (p = 0.026), and individuals with poorer oral health status (p = 0.001) exhibited significantly higher fear levels. This study is the first to reveal the mediating mechanism through which mental resilience regulates dental fear via active procrastination strategies, providing a novel theoretical framework for clinical psychological interventions.