Kekemeliği Olan ve Olmayan Çocukların Kaygı Tiplerinin Öz Bildirim Yöntemiyle Karşılaştırılması: Tanımlayıcı Çalışma

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the anxiety types of school-age children with and without stuttering based on self-report. A further aim was to examine the possible relationships between anxiety levels and stuttering characteristics in children with stuttering. Material and Methods: The participants included 25 children who stutter aged between 9-12 years (mean age=115.64±9.8 months; 22 boys, 3 girls) and 25 age- and gender- matched children who did not stutter (mean age=116.52±10.3 months; 22 boys, 3 girls). The children's anxiety types were examined with the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale Child Version. The Stuttering Severity Instrument- 4-TR was used to evaluate the stuttering characteristics of children with stuttering. Results: There was no significant difference between the separation anxiety, fear of physical injury, generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder-agoraphobia sub-factor scores of the children with and without stuttering. However, the social phobia (Mann-Whitney U test; p=0.008; effect size: 0.75) and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale total scores (independent samples t-test; p=0.009; effect size: 0.77) of the children with stuttering were significantly higher than for children without stuttering. Conclusion: It is thought that the knowledge of speech and language therapists about different types of anxiety may help them to better understand the individual's stuttering. Thus, anxiety levels should be checked during routine stuttering assessments.