Journal of Fluency Disorders最新文献

Purpose

This study determined whether adults who stutter (AWS) exhibit deficits in responding to an auditory feedback timing perturbation, and whether external timing cues, which increase fluency, attenuate any disruptions due to altered temporal auditory feedback.

Methods

Fifteen AWS and sixteen adults who do not stutter (ANS) read aloud a multisyllabic sentence either with normal pacing or with each syllable paced at the rate of a metronome. On random trials, an auditory feedback timing perturbation was applied, and timing responses were compared between groups and pacing conditions.

Results

Both groups responded to the timing perturbation by delaying subsequent syllable boundaries, and there were no significant differences between groups in either pacing condition. Furthermore, no response differences were found between normally paced and metronome-paced conditions.

Conclusion

These findings are interpreted as showing that 1) AWS respond normally to pure timing perturbations, and 2) metronome-paced speech has no effect on online speech timing control as assessed in the present experiment.

This is the third in a series of papers that provides an historical record in this journal of contributions made by the most influential figures in the field of fluency disorders. The paper reflects on the long and productive career of Barry Guitar, documenting his outstanding achievements. The paper is based on interviews with him during 2022. Like no one else in our field, Barry Guitar has an understanding of the experience of stuttering and how to cope with it, and, throughout his career, he has used that understanding to inspire others to cope with it.

Purpose

This study aims to: (a) measure public attitudes toward stuttering in Malaysia using the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attitudes-Stuttering [POSHA-S], (b) determine how reported attitudes and knowledge related to stuttering compare to existing data, and (c) determine whether there are differences between groups for identified variables.

Method

A total of 250 adults (mean age = 29 years; range = 19–60 years) completed the POSHA–S in English. We compared this sample's attitudes toward stuttering to POSHA-S data from other global samples. General linear modeling examined differences in overall stuttering score, beliefs, and self reaction subscores for demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, parenting, education, employment status, prior exposure to a person who stutters, multilingual, race, and religion.

Results

The Malaysian participants’ overall stuttering score and the beliefs and self reactions subscores were all considerably lower (i.e., less positive) than the other samples around the world from the POSHA-S database median values. Being male, receiving a higher education, and knowing someone who stutters were linked to having more positive self reactions, but none of those factors was linked to positive or negative beliefs. Those who had previously been exposed to stuttering scored significantly higher than those who had not.

Conclusion

Malaysians may have less positive attitudes toward stuttering than Westerners. More needs to be done to make society more accepting of people who stutter. Future research should aim to find ways to educate and to raise public awareness about stuttering.

Purpose

Prior work has shown that Adults who stutter (AWS) have reduced and delayed responses to auditory feedback perturbations. This study aimed to determine whether external timing cues, which increase fluency, resolve auditory feedback processing disruptions.

Methods

Fifteen AWS and sixteen adults who do not stutter (ANS) read aloud a multisyllabic sentence either with natural stress and timing or with each syllable paced at the rate of a metronome. On random trials, an auditory feedback formant perturbation was applied, and formant responses were compared between groups and pacing conditions.

Results

During normally paced speech, ANS showed a significant compensatory response to the perturbation by the end of the perturbed vowel, while AWS did not. In the metronome-paced condition, which significantly reduced the disfluency rate, the opposite was true: AWS showed a significant response by the end of the vowel, while ANS did not.

Conclusion

These findings indicate a potential link between the reduction in stuttering found during metronome-paced speech and changes in auditory motor integration in AWS.

Background

Information about genetic influence is useful to when counselling parents or caregivers who have infants and children at risk for stuttering. Yet, the most comprehensive family aggregate database to inform that counselling is nearly four decades old (Andrews et al., 1983). Consequently, the present study was designed to provide a contemporary exploration of the relationship between stuttering and family history.

Methods

Data were sourced from the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, comprising 739 participants who presented for assessment, treatment, or investigation of stuttering. Reported family history data were acquired from pedigrees collected during assessment. We sought to establish the relation of the following variables to family history of stuttering: incidence, proband sex, parent sex, stuttering severity, age, reported age of stuttering onset, and impact of stuttering. Data were analysed with chi-square tests for independence, logistic and linear regression models.

Results

Results were broadly consistent with existing data, but the following findings were novel. Males and females who stutter have the same increased odds of having a father who stutters relative to a mother who stutters. Males had later stuttering onset than females, with genetic involvement in this effect. There was a greater impact of stuttering for females than males with a family history of stuttering.

Conclusion

These findings have clinical applications. Speech-language pathologists may have infant or child clients known to them who are at risk of beginning to stutter. Information from the present study can be applied to counselling parents or caregivers of such children about stuttering and family history.

Purpose

To determine the relationships between (1) stuttering severity and (2) avoidance of speaking on patient centeredness of healthcare system interactions in a sample of persons who stutter.

Methods

This quantitative study utilized cross-sectional electronic surveys to assess the experiences of one-hundred-twenty-two adults who stutter in the United States with primary care physicians. The surveys evaluated: (1) self-reported stuttering severity and avoidance of speaking; and (2) self-reported patient-centeredness of healthcare interactions. We used multivariate linear regression to model relationships between independent and dependent variables, controlling for age, gender, patient-provider relationship duration, race/ethnicity, the presence of comorbid conditions, and household income.

Results

Patient self-reported avoidance of speaking was significantly negatively associated with self-reported patient-centeredness of healthcare interactions. Patient self-reported stuttering severity was not significantly associated with patient-centeredness.

Conclusion

Our findings present evidence that internal non-observable behaviors among persons who stutter, such as avoiding speaking, are associated with negative impact on healthcare interactions. Speech-language pathologists may want to discuss healthcare challenges with their clients and elicit communication barriers to inspire positive interactions within the healthcare system.

Purpose

This study aims to develop a short Japanese version of the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S), which assesses the self-stigma of adults who stutter (AWS) in a self-completed form, and evaluate its psychometric properties and reliability and validity.

Methods

After translating the original 4S scale into Japanese (4S-J) through a forward-backward translation process, it was administered to 123 Japanese adults who stutter. A short version of the 4S-J was developed through factor analysis and eliminating items with low loadings to original factors. Reliability was verified by calculating internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Participants also completed the Japanese-translated version of the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Subjective Happiness Scale to verify construct validity. As a secondary analysis, our results regarding psychological properties of the short version of the 4S were then compared to those of studies from other countries.

Results

Sixteen items were selected for the short version of the scale (4S-J-16), and confirmatory factor analysis verified the original structure of the 4S. We obtained good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Regarding construct validity, our results showed similar correlation with the other selected scales. The value of all scores on the stigma scale in the Japanese cohort was significantly higher than that in the foreign cohort.

Conclusions

Overall, the 4S-J-16 has good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity with a three-factor structure of self-stigma in Japanese AWS. The findings suggest that Japanese cultural background increases the stigma scores, thereby enabling us to briefly assess the psychosocial issues of AWS.