Announcing 'Stammering Research' - Stammering Research - UCL
Announcing 'Stammering Research' - Stammering Research - UCL
Announcing 'Stammering Research' - Stammering Research - UCL
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<strong>Stammering</strong> <strong>Research</strong>. Vol. 1.<br />
including models using planned reason and severity of stuttering. Some studies have examined the<br />
impact of stuttering severity (Collins & Blood, 1990) using the acknowledgment tactic and found it to<br />
be an important variable in perceptual studies. We were intrigued by the authors’ suggestions to study<br />
the social and affective factors/impact in different social situations. For instance, we reported (Blood et<br />
al., 2001) that adolescents who stutter had significantly poorer perceptions about their own<br />
communication competence, especially in group discussions, interpersonal conversations, and with<br />
strangers when compared with students who did not stutter. How would the authors suggest<br />
researchers address studying these multiple factors in different social situations? We also feel that a<br />
strong need exists to replicate current data and determine the extent these perceptual studies parallel<br />
real life situations.<br />
A recent study which supports the temperament review (although using a different model) is now<br />
available (Guitar, 2004). His article on acoustic startle responses and temperament in 14 adults who<br />
stutter and 14 who did not stutter concluded that individuals who stutter may “as a group, have a more<br />
reactive temperament than nonstutterers” (p. 238). Do the authors support the use of mixed designs<br />
using both psychological and physiological data collection and analyses? And do these designs have<br />
more strength to showcase the role of social factors?<br />
In the area of school and adolescence, the authors suggested diary methods to collect data. We<br />
found this a difficult method to use with school-age students, even when they were provided with<br />
electronic beepers to remind them to rate their perceived “bullying” and record their perceptions.<br />
Compliance not withstanding, this is an important research tool that could shed new light on<br />
perceptions of perceived or actual aggressiveness in the school yard, recreational activities or board<br />
room. Recently we published a study on perceived communicative competence, self- esteem and<br />
vulnerability to bullying of 53 adolescents who stutter and 53 control participants (Blood & Blood,<br />
2004). Adolescents who stutter (43%) were at a significantly higher risk of experiencing bullying than<br />
were adolescents who did not stutter (11%). The majority of adolescents who stutter (57%) rated their<br />
communicative competence as poor. However, 72% of the adolescents who stutter scored within one<br />
standard deviation from the mean on the self-esteem measure. Students with both low self-esteem and<br />
perceived poor communicative competence were more likely to be victimized by bullies. The links<br />
among social factors including perceived stigma, self-esteem, perceived communicative competence,<br />
social anxiety, bullying, temperament, etc. need to be researched more fully. We support the authors<br />
final suggestions about the need for control groups, larger, more representative samples, more carefully<br />
designed studies and the use of more appropriate methodologies for data analyses.<br />
The social factors surrounding adulthood issues focus primarily on employment, presumably due to<br />
page constraints. We have completed some work in this area. The caution about sensitivity to<br />
discrimination by employers and potential evaluators is especially pertinent in this line of inquiry. Do<br />
the authors have models that examine this more covertly from their body of social psychology literature<br />
that could be shared with readers? We would also be interested in the authors’ ideas about examining<br />
other social factors in adults in areas such as relationships (social, dating, marriage), perceived life<br />
stressors, life satisfaction, etc. The research is extremely limited. Although researchers have invested<br />
heavily in the prevention, early detection and treatment of stuttering, for millions of individuals it still<br />
becomes a chronic life-long problem requiring necessary skills for coping and adapting. We think that<br />
other models in social psychology examining epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, obesity which may have<br />
similar trajectories from childhood could provide potent models for adaptation.<br />
We agreed with the authors that increasing in a systematic and rigorous manner the impact and<br />
relationship of social and affective factors in stuttering across the life span is extremely important. The<br />
articles shed important light on some of the potential challenges and methodological issues, but also the<br />
critical need for more interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research teams.<br />
References<br />
Blood, G. W., & Blood, I. M. (2004). Bullying in adolescents who stutter: Communicative competence and selfesteem.<br />
Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, 31, 69-79.<br />
Blood, G. W., Blood, I. M., Tellis, G., & Gabel, R. (2001). Communication apprehension and self-perceived<br />
communication competence in adolescents who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 26, 161-178.<br />
Collins, C., & Blood, G. W. (1990). Acknowledgment and severity of stuttering as factors influencing<br />
nonstutterers perceptions of stutterers. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 55, 75-81.<br />
Furnham, A., & Davis, S. (2004). Involvement of social factors in stuttering: A review and assessment of<br />
currently methodology. <strong>Stammering</strong> <strong>Research</strong>, 1, 112-122.<br />
Guitar, B. (1998). Stuttering: An integrated approach to its nature and treatment. Baltimore, MD: Williams &<br />
Wilkins.<br />
Guitar, B. (2003). Acoustic startle responses and temperament in individuals who stutter. Journal of Speech,<br />
Language, and Hearing <strong>Research</strong>, 46, 233-240.<br />
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