The Speech Situation Checklist—Emotional Reaction: Normative and comparative study of Kannada-speaking children who do and do not stutter

Abstract

Purpose: Existing data stemming from investigations with the Speech Situation Checklist (SSC) have shown this standardised test to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing speech-related anxiety in children who stutter (CWS). The main purpose of this study was to compare Speech Situation Checklist-Emotional Reaction (SSC-ER) scores for Kannada-speaking children who do not stutter (CWNS) and CWS. In addition, the Speech Situation Checklist—Emotional Reaction in Kannada (SSC-ER-K) scores among different stuttering severity and age groups were compared in CWS. Method: The English version of the SSC-ER was forward-translated into Kannada and back-translated by the first author. SSC-ER-K was administered on 100 CWS and 275 CWNS aged between 7 and 14 years who were native speakers of the Kannada language. The severity of stuttering was estimated using the Stuttering Severity Instrument—fourth edition (SSI-4). Result: The results revealed that the SSC-ER-K scores of CWS were significantly higher in comparison with CWNS. CWS with moderate and severe degrees of stuttering had significantly higher scores when compared to those with a mild degree of stuttering. Furthermore, the older CWS (11–14 years) had significantly higher scores compared to the younger CWS (7–10 years). In addition, the SSC-ER-K appears to be a reliable self-report test. The above findings suggest the presence of significantly increased speech-related anxiety in CWS. Also, as age and severity of stuttering increased so did the level of their speech-related anxiety. Conclusion: The SSC-ER-K is a useful tool in the assessment of negative emotional reaction to specific speech situations in Kannada CWS and can assist speech-language pathologists in addressing speech-situation specific anxiety during treatment.