Comparing stuttering attitudes of preschool through 5th grade children and their parents in a predominately rural Appalachian sample

A comparison of stuttering attitudes among nonstuttering children and parents in Bosnia & Herzegovina

“…To address that need, Glover, St. Louis, & Weidner [22] measured the stuttering attitudes of preschool through fifth grade children as well as their parents. A total of 150 child-parent pairs participated (N = 300) representing: preschool (n = 46), kindergarten (n = 36), first grade (n = 42), second grade (n = 38), third grade (n = 48), fourth grade (n = 42), and fifth grade (n = 48).…”

“…Results from Glover et al [22] suggested that children's stuttering attitudes significantly change between early and middle childhood, whereas parents' stuttering attitudes remain stable. The authors posited that children's stuttering attitudes may emerge as a byproduct of social cognitive skills and gradually align with their prevailing culture.…”

“…Theories about the emergence of stuttering attitudes in young children intrigued many POSHA-S collaborators, especially those who conducted attitude research in adults. The second author, who is from Bosnia & Herzegovina (B&H), indicated a replication of the Glover et al [22] study in B&H would provide useful contributions to understanding the evolution of attitudes among young children and the possible parental influences on their attitudes.…”

“…Bosnia & Herzegovina emerged as a feasible country in which to replicate the Glover et al [22] studies for two primary reasons. First, previous stuttering attitude research in B&H has provided a strong foundation for continued investigations and cross-cultural comparisons.…”

“…The purposes of this study were to examine the differences of stuttering attitudes among children from B&H across different grade levels and compare their attitudes to those of their parents. Bearing on previous research theorizing children's stuttering attitudes are resistant to culture [20] and that attitudes improve throughout early childhood [22], we hypothesized (a) children's attitudes would follow an upward trajectory with age, (b) younger children would hold significantly worse attitudes than their parents, and (c) older children would hold similar attitudes to their parents.…”