Keywords

Stuttering, people who stutter, beliefs, reactions, attitudes, faculty, and students

Mentor

Cara Singer

Abstract

People who stutter (PWS) can experience negative reactions and judgment from people who do not stutter. They are stigmatized and threatened with social exclusion, placing them at risk for compromised quality of life (Przepiorka et al., 2013). Furthermore, it is imperative to evaluate attitudes of university faculty and students relative to stuttering because it will identify negative attitudes that could be harmful to people who stutter.

This poster analyzed the following research questions: (RQ1) Are there differing beliefs regarding stuttering or people who stutter between faculty and students? (RQ2) Are there differences between beliefs across different colleges? (RQ3) Are attitudes toward stuttering related to the amount that someone reports knowing about people who stutter? (RQ4) Are there differences in beliefs between people who know someone who stutters and a person who does not know someone who stutters?

Results of our first research question showed that students were found to react more positively to stuttering than faculty/staff members. Results for our second research question showed participants in the Colleges of Health Professions and Education held more positive beliefs, reactions, and overall attitudes about stuttering in comparison to participants from other colleges. Results for our third research question showed that there was a positive relation between perceived knowledge about stuttering and positive reactions and overall attitudes toward stuttering. Finally, our fourth research question showed that participants that knew a PWS held more positive attitudes toward stuttering than participants who reported not knowing someone who stutters.

The implications of our findings suggest that more education and awareness surrounding stuttering and PWS may yield more positive beliefs, reactions, and attitudes toward stuttering, and perhaps improve the quality of life of students who stutter.

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