The effects of short courses in modifying the attitudes of adult and adolescent stutterers to communication.

Abstract

Two studies examined attitude changes to communication by stutterers during short intensive courses. The Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory was used to monitor change. As the experimental hypothesis anticipated, change was most clearly seen in the avoidance items of the inventory. In both studies these showed significantly greater positive change than either the struggle or expectancy items. Moreover, positive changes were only found during the period of the course; no positive changes were found for any scales during the month prior to or after the course. The findings justified the use of short courses to change the attitudes of stutterers and suggested that they may be used in conjunction with other approaches which seek to influence fluency directly. An attempt to relate the changes in attitude to changes in speech over the short period of the course was unsuccessful.