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This investigation was designed to study the impact of prolonged pacifier use on speech articulation. Three groups of children representing varying degrees of pacifier use ranging from little or none to 55 months were formed. Group 1 consisted of 30 children who had no or minimal history of pacifier use. Group 2 consisted of 16 children who had a history of pacifier use for up to 15 months. Group 3 consisted of 22 children who had a history of pacifier use that ranged from 18 to 55 months. Each child was administered the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-Second Edition (GFTA-2; R. Goldman & M. Fristoe, 2000). For purposes of this investigation, mean standard scores for each group were statistically compared. A one-way analysis of variance did not suggest that there were significant differences among the 3 groups. Implications for future study include more rigorous quantification of the style and brand of pacifier used, the extent of pacifier use, the inclusion of other forms of nonnutritive sucking, and the instrument and protocol for measuring speech articulation errors.

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