Italian normative data for the Unhelpful Thoughts and Beliefs about Stuttering (UTBAS) Scales for adults who stutter

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Italian translation of the Unhelpful Thoughts and Beliefs about Stuttering (UTBAS) scales for adults who stutter, as there are no assessment tools currently available in Italy. The UTBAS scales provide a comprehensive stuttering-specific measure of the unhelpful thoughts and beliefs that can be used to screen for indicators of social anxiety in adults who stutter. Additionally, the UTBAS scales also allow the identification of negative thoughts and beliefs that negatively impact speech treatment outcomes.

Method

The translation of the UTBAS scales into Italian (UTBAS-ITA) was completed using the forward-backward translation process and it was administered to 98 adults who stutter (AWS) and 98 adults who do not stutter (AWNS). Both groups were matched for gender and age. We also administered the UTBAS-ITA to 76 AWS a second time within a two-week interval to assess test-retest reliability. Additionally, we administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale to 20 AWS to assess concurrent validity.

Results

The UTBAS-ITA showed good power of discrimination between AWS and AWNS, high internal validity, high internal consistency, good construct validity, and good test-retest reliability.

Conclusion

Since there is a scarcity of clinical assessment tools for adults who stutter in Italy, the UTBAS-ITA could serve as an assessment tool and outcome measure for clinical and research environments.