Positioning identity in clinical interviews with people who stutter

Area of Science:

• Discursive Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Qualitative Research Methods

Background:

• Clinicians utilize ethnographic interviews to assess the impact of stuttering on individuals' lives.
• These interviews inform judgments about career, education, personality, and behavior.
• Understanding the client's perspective is crucial for effective clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze subject positions within accounts of stuttering.
• To investigate how discursive psychology methods can be applied to ethnographic interview data.
• To explore the implications of identity-based clinical judgments derived from interviews.

Main Methods:

• Discursive psychology methods were applied to analyze data from two semi-structured ethnographic interviews.
• Participants who stuttered shared their viewpoints on the effects of stuttering.
• Probe questions were used to elicit detailed personal accounts.

Main Results:

• Analysis revealed how participants constructed their identities in relation to stuttering.
• Specific subject positions were identified within the interview narratives.
• The study highlights the dynamic nature of identity construction in the context of stuttering.

Conclusions:

• Clinical judgments about a client's identity based on ethnographic interviews require careful consideration.
• Discursive psychology offers valuable tools for analyzing interview data in speech-language pathology.
• Further research is needed to refine methods for interpreting identity in clinical contexts.