A comparison of attitudes towards stuttering of non-stuttering preschoolers in the United States and Turkey

Background and objectives: Extensive research documents ubiquitous negative attitudes towards stuttering, but when and how they develop is unclear. This non-experimental, comparative study examined US and Turkish preschoolers to explore the origin of stuttering attitudes cross-culturally. Method: The authors compared stuttering attitudes of 28 US and 31 Turkish non-stuttering preschoolers on English and Turkish versions of experimental prototypes of the newly developed Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes–Stuttering/Child (POSHA–S/Child). Children first watched a short video of two stuttering avatar characters and then answered oral questions about stuttering. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Differences in the US and Turkish POSHA–S/Child means were calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Attitudes of the US and Turkish children were remarkably similar. Children rated most of the items negatively but also rated some items as neutral or positive. They held relatively more negative attitudes towards traits and personalities of children who stutter yet relatively more positive attitudes towards stuttering children’s potential. Conclusion: Stuttering attitudes in children appear to be partly independent of culture

Primary school teachers’ opinions and attitudes towards stuttering in two South African urban education districts

Background: As teachers form an important part of the intervention process with children who stutter in primary school, the primary aim was to describe primary school teachers’ attitudes in South Africa. The secondary aim was to compare teachers’ attitudes towards stuttering in South Africa with those from a pooled group of respondents in the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes–Stuttering (POSHA-S) database from different countries collected in 2009–2014. Method: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey research design was used. Primary schools in two education districts in Western Cape, South Africa, were sampled. The POSHA-S, a selfadministered questionnaire, was completed by a cluster sample of 469 participants. Results: Overall positive attitudes towards stuttering were found, specifically related to the potential of people who stutter, although the result should be interpreted with caution as the sample was not homogenously positive. Teachers still had misconceptions about personality stereotypes and the cause of stuttering. The attitudes of the South African sample were slightly more positive compared with the samples in the current POSHA-S database. Conclusion: When developing stuttering intervention strategies, there are a number of key considerations to take into account. The study provides a basis for speech-language therapists to think about intervention with teachers and which areas of stuttering to consider

A country-wide probability sample of public attitudes toward stuttering in Portugal

Background: Negative public attitudes toward stuttering have been widely reported, although differences among countries and regions exist. Clear reasons for these differences remain obscure. Purpose: Published research is unavailable on public attitudes toward stuttering in Portugalas well as a representative sample that explores stuttering attitudes in an entire country. This study sought to (a) determine the feasibility of a country-wide probability samplingscheme to measure public stuttering attitudes in Portugal using a standard instrument (the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes–Stuttering [POSHA–S]) and (b) identify demographic variables that predict Portuguese attitudes. Methods: The POSHA–S was translated to European Portuguese through a five-step process. There after, a local administrative office-based, three-stage, cluster, probability sampling scheme was carried out to obtain 311 adult respondents who filled out the questionnaire. Results: The Portuguese population held stuttering attitudes that were generally within the average range of those observed from numerous previous POSHA–S samples. Demographicvariables that predicted more versus less positive stuttering attitudes were respondents’age, region of the country, years of school completed, working situation, and number of languages spoken. Non-predicting variables were respondents’ sex, marital status, and parental status. Conclusion: A local administrative office-based, probability sampling scheme generated a respondent profile similar to census data and indicated that Portuguese attitudes are generally typical

Sukces w terapii jąkania - czym jest i jak go osiągnąć - opinie „podwójnych ekspertów”

Jąkanie jest zjawiskiem wielowymiarowym, definiowanym na wielu płaszczyznach. W związku z tym istnieją różne podejścia do terapii tego zaburzenia, a zatem na różne sposoby można też określać zarówno cele interwencji terapeutycznej, jak to, co należy uznawać za sukces w terapii. Pomysłodawczynie tego artykułu-wywiadu – Katarzyna Węsierska i Aleksandra Boroń zaprosiły do dyskusji na ten temat osoby, które wystąpiły w roli „podwójnych ekspertów”. Gospodynie tego wywiadu za takie osoby uznały tych, którzy na co dzień mają osobiste doświadczenia z jąkaniem, a którzy jednocześnie – zawodowo lub społecznie – angażują się w działalność pomocową na rzecz osób jąkających się. Do udziału w panelu dyskusyjnym zaproszone zostały więc osoby, które reprezentują środowisko profesjonalistów – są terapeutami (logopedami, psychologami, badaczami na gruncie logopedii) lub są społecznikami na tym polu – aktywnymi działaczami ruchu samopomocowego, liderami grup wsparcia. W dyskusji udział wzięli rozmówcy z Polski: Grzegorz Chmielewski (psycholog i logopeda), Zdzisław Gładosz (lider polskiego ruchu samopomocy dla osób jąkających się), Lucyna Jankowska-Szafarska (psycholog kliniczny i liderka grupy terapeutyczno- samopomocowej) oraz goście z zagranicy: z Izraela – Benny Ravid (lider izraelskiego ruchu samopomocy), z Niemiec – Tobias Haase (aktywny działacz niemieckiego ruchu samopomocy), z USA – profesorowie Paul Blanchet i Kenneth O. St. Louis (logopedzi, badacze i liderzy lokalnych grup samopomocowych), a także z Wielkiej Brytanii – Rachel Everard (logopedka i liderka brytyjskiego ruchu samopomocy). Tematyka rozważań podjętych w rozmowach z tymi „podwójnymi ekspertami” koncentrowała się wokół takich zagadnień, jak percepcja sukcesu w terapii jąkania, określenie celów skutecznej terapii, udzielenie wskazówek/porad rodzicom dzieci z tym problemem w mowie, osobom dorosłym poszukującym pomocy i młodym logopedom, a także określenie roli grup samopomocowych w procesie terapii jąkania

Public attitudes toward stuttering in Europe: within-country and between-country comparisons

Introduction: Epidemiological research methods have been shown to be useful in determining factors that might predict commonly reported negative public attitudes toward stuttering. Previous research has suggested that stuttering attitudes of respondents from North America and Europe (i.e., “The West”), though characterized by stereotypes and potential stigma, are more positive than those from several other regions of the world. This inference assumes that public attitudes within various regions characterized by “The West” are similar. Purpose: This study aimed to determine the extent to which public stuttering attitudes are similar or different both within regions of three different European countries and between or among five different European countries or similar geographic areas. It also aimed to compare these European attitudes to attitudes from 135 samples around the world using a standard measure. Material and methods: Using convenience sampling, 1111 adult respondents from eight different investigations completed the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) in the dominant language of each country or area. In Study I, the authors compared attitudes within three different regions of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, and Norway. In Study II, the authors compared attitudes between combined samples from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, and Norway (with additional respondents from Sweden), and two other samples, one from Germany and the other from Ireland and England. Results: Attitudes of adults from the three samples within Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, and Norway were remarkably similar. By contrast, attitudes between the five different countries or area were quite dramatically different. Demographic variables on the POSHA-S did not predict the rank order of these between-country/area differences. Compared to the POSHA-S worldwide database, European attitudes ranged from less positive than average (i.e., Italians) to more positive than average (i.e., Norwegians and Swedes). Conclusion: Factors related to national identity appear to play a significant role in differences in public attitudes in Europe and should be explored in future research

"Spontaneous" late recovery from stuttering: Dimensions of reported techniques and causal attributions

Purpose: (1) To survey the employed techniques and the reasons/occasions which adults who had recovered from stuttering after age 11 without previous treatment reported as causal to overcome stuttering, (2) to investigate whether the techniques and causal attributions can be reduced to coherent (inherently consistent) dimensions, and (3) whether these dimensions reflect common therapy components.Methods: 124 recovered persons from 8 countries responded by SurveyMonkey or paper-and-pencil to rating scale questions about 49 possible techniques and 15 causal attributions.Results: A Principal Component Analysis of 110 questionnaires identified 6 components (dimensions) for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Relaxed/Monitored Speech; Elocution; Stage Performance; Sought Speech Demands; Reassurance; 63.7% variance explained), and 3 components of perceived causal attributions of recovery (Life Change, Attitude Change, Social Support; 58.0% variance explained).Discussion: Two components for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Elocution) reflect treatment methods. Another component (Relaxed/Monitored Speech) consists mainly of items that reflect a common, non-professional understanding of effective management of stuttering. The components of the various perceived reasons for recovery reflect differing implicit theories of causes for recovery from stuttering. These theories are considered susceptible to various biases. This identification of components of reported techniques and of causal attributions is novel compared to previous studies who just list techniques and attributions.Conclusion: The identified dimensions of self-assisted techniques and causal attributions to reduce stuttering as extracted from self-reports of a large, international sample of recovered formerly stuttering adults may guide the application of behavioral stuttering therapies.</p

“Spontaneous” late recovery from stuttering: Dimensions of reported techniques and causal attributions

Purpose: (1) To survey the employed techniques and the reasons/occasions which adults who had recovered from stuttering after age 11 without previous treatment reported as causal to overcome stuttering, (2) to investigate whether the techniques and causal attributions can be reduced to coherent (inherently consistent) dimensions, and (3) whether these dimensions reflect common therapy components. Methods: 124 recovered persons from 8 countries responded by SurveyMonkey or paper-and-pencil to rating scale questions about 49 possible techniques and 15 causal attributions. Results: A Principal Component Analysis of 110 questionnaires identified 6 components (dimensions) for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Relaxed/Monitored Speech; Elocution; Stage Performance; Sought Speech Demands; Reassurance; 63.7% variance explained), and 3 components of perceived causal attributions of recovery (Life Change, Attitude Change, Social Support; 58.0% variance explained). Discussion: Two components for self-assisted techniques (Speech Restructuring; Elocution) reflect treatment methods. Another component (Relaxed/Monitored Speech) consists mainly of items that reflect a common, non-professional understanding of effective management of stuttering. The components of the various perceived reasons for recovery reflect differing implicit theories of causes for recovery from stuttering. These theories are considered susceptible to various biases. This identification of components of reported techniques and of causal attributions is novel compared to previous studies who just list techniques and attributions. Conclusion: The identified dimensions of self-assisted techniques and causal attributions to reduce stuttering as extracted from self-reports of a large, international sample of recovered formerly stuttering adults may guide the application of behavioral stuttering therapies

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms