A Cross-Cultural Approach to the Problem of Stuttering

Epidemiology of stuttering: 21st century advances

“…For several decades, especially from the 1940s to the 1960s, beliefs that cultural values can greatly influence the very incidence of stuttering were rather popular. Among others, they were influenced, on one hand, by reports from anthropologists who worked with primitive societies in New Guinea and the Pacific islands who stated that they did not encounter people who stuttered among thousands of indigenous people with whom they interacted (Bullen, 1945). These findings were reinforced by Snidecor’s (1947) account that he failed to identify a single person who stuttered among 800 members of the American Indian Bannock and Shoshone tribes whom he personally interviewed.…”

Stuttering behavior and anxiety as a function of the duration of stimulus words.

“…Although quantitative relationships have not been reported, clinical and/or observational protocol (14,18,40,58) suggest that early parental training practices and attitudes are among the antecedent conditions which influence the acquisition and retention of stuttering behavior. In addition, the frequency of stuttering appears to be related to classes of stimulus variables such as characteristics of the word materials (n, 12, 13, J 9> 34' 35' 37> 3$> 4 2 ) an ^ of tne speech situation (4,7,8,27,47,54,60,63), threat of punishment (70), alteration of speech patterns and/or accompanying behavior (5,7,8,39,41), practice conditions (27,41,54,60), and suggestion (7) ?…”

Stutterers' self-acceptance and perceived parental acceptance.

“…Whatever their basic theoretical persuasions, however, authorities concede that stuttering must be related in part to psychosocial factors. Otherwise it would be impossible to explain the variability of stuttering (Bloodstein, 1949) or its absence in certain cultures (Bullen, 1945;Snidecor, 1947). Goodstein and Dahlstrom (1956) reported that the parents of stutterers, when tested on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), do not appear to be malad-1 This article is based on a portion of a doctoral dissertation completed at Teachers College, Columbia University, under the sponsorship of Edward D. Mysak, chairman of the dissertation committee.…”