Beliefs about Stuttering and Anxiety: Research and Clinical Implications

Abstract

There has long been a theoretical connection between anxiety and stuttering, although the empirical search for such a connection has yielded indecisive results. In order to contribute further information about stuttering and anxiety, survey methodology was used to elicit beliefs about stuttering and anxiety from speech pathologists and people who stutter. Results showed that the majority of both groups believed that state anxiety is involved in stuttering, but only a small minority believed that trait anxiety is involved in stuttering. Results also suggested that people who stutter are not a homogenous group in their experiences of state anxiety about speaking. The research and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.