Stuttering self-stigma in children (Johnson et al., 2024)

Purpose: Self-stigma occurs when a person internalizes and applies stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination to themselves. For adults who stutter, self-stigma is linked to negative outcomes and reduced quality of life. The development of self-stigma in people who stutter is not well understood. The aim of this study is to evaluate stuttering self-stigma in school-age children and adolescents and explore potential relationships to stuttering’s overall adverse impact.Method: One hundred one children and adolescents who stutter, aged 10–18 years, completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES), a measure of adverse impact related to stuttering, and the Childhood Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (Child 4S), our novel adapted version of the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S) created for this study. The Child 4S comprises three subscales measuring three stages of self-stigma: Awareness, Agreement, and Application. Each stage was evaluated for relationships with child age and the adverse impact of stuttering.Results: We found a range of self-stigma scores among children and adolescents who stutter. Child age did not correlate with Awareness and Agreement; however, older children and adolescents reported greater Application. All stages of self-stigma strongly predicted adverse impact as measured by the OASES, and latter stages of the model were stronger predictors than earlier stages.Conclusions: Children as young as 10 years old may experience stuttering self-stigma, and the application of self-stigma increases in adolescence, a critical period in the development of personal identity. Importantly, all stages of self-stigma predicted adverse impact related to stuttering, with latter stages being stronger predictors than earlier ones consistent with the progressive model of self-stigma being tested. The findings highlight the need for targeted, early intervention to mitigate downstream effects of stuttering self-stigma.Supplemental Material S1. Internal consistency of OASES (Cronbach’s alpha).Johnson, C. A., Gerwin, K. L., Tichenor, S. E., Tichenor, M. P., & Walsh, B. (2024). Evaluating stuttering self-stigma and its relationship to adverse impact in children and adolescents with the Child Stuttering Self-Stigma Scale. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(9), 2920–2934. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00069

目的：当个人内化并应用于自身的刻板印象、偏见和歧视时，便产生了自我污名。对于口吃成人而言，自我污名与负面后果和生活质量下降密切相关。对于口吃者自我污名的发展尚不明确。本研究旨在评估学龄儿童和青少年口吃者的自我污名，并探讨其与口吃整体不利影响的潜在关联。
方法：101名10至18岁的口吃儿童和青少年完成了整体说话者口吃体验评估（OASES），这是一种与口吃相关的不利影响衡量工具，以及儿童口吃自我污名量表（Child 4S），这是我们为本研究量身定制的自我污名量表（4S）的修订版。Child 4S 包含三个子量表，测量自我污名的三个阶段：意识、同意和应用。每个阶段均评估了与儿童年龄和口吃不利影响的关联。
结果：我们在口吃儿童和青少年中发现了多种自我污名得分。儿童年龄与意识和同意无相关性；然而，年龄较大的儿童和青少年报告了更多的应用。自我污名的所有阶段都强烈预测了由 OASES 衡量的不利影响，而模型的后期阶段比早期阶段是更强的预测因素。
结论：即使10岁的儿童也可能经历口吃自我污名，而自我污名的应用在青春期增加，这是个人身份发展的重要时期。重要的是，自我污名的所有阶段都预测了与口吃相关的不利影响，后期阶段比早期阶段更强，这与自我污名的渐进性模型相一致。这些发现强调了针对早期干预的需求，以减轻口吃自我污名的下游影响。
补充材料 S1：OASES 的内部一致性（Cronbach 的 α 系数）。Johnson, C. A., Gerwin, K. L., Tichenor, S. E., Tichenor, M. P., & Walsh, B. (2024). 使用儿童口吃自我污名量表评估儿童和青少年口吃者的自我污名及其与不利影响的关系。言语、语言和听力研究杂志，67(9)，2920–2934. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00069