Temperamental Characteristics of Young Children Who Stutter

TLDR

The study aimed to compare temperamental traits of children who stutter with those who do not using a parent‑reported norm‑referenced questionnaire. Thirty‑one stuttering and thirty‑one non‑stuttering children aged 3–5 years, matched on age, gender, and race, completed the Behavioral Style Questionnaire, with all participants otherwise having normal speech, language, and hearing. Parents reported that children who stutter were more likely to exhibit hypervigilance, resistance to change, and irregular biological functions, suggesting these temperamental characteristics may exacerbate and maintain stuttering.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the temperamental characteristics of children who do (CWS) and do not (CWNS) stutter using a norm-referenced parent-report questionnaire. Participants were 31 CWS and 31 CWNS between the ages of 3;0 (years;months) and 5;4 (CWS: mean age=48.03 months; CWNS: mean age=48.58 months). The CWS were matched by age (±4 months), gender, and race to the CWNS. All participants had speech, language, and hearing development within normal limits, with the obvious exception of stuttering for CWS. Children's temperamental characteristics were determined using the Behavioral Style Questionnaire (BSQ; S. C. McDevitt & W. B. Carey, 1978), which was completed by each child's parents. Results, based on parent responses to the BSQ, indicated that CWS are more apt, when compared to CWNS, to exhibit temperamental profiles consistent with hypervigilance (i.e., less distractibility), nonadaptability to change, and irregular biological functions. Findings suggest that some temperamental characteristics differentiate CWS from CWNS and could conceivably contribute to the exacerbation, as well as maintenance, of their stuttering.