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Behavioral inhibition and childhood stuttering
Dahye Choi1, Edward G Conture, Tedra A Walden
1Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 1215 21st Avenue South, Suite 8310 MCE South Tower, Nashville, TN 37232-8242, USA. da.h.choi@Vanderbilt.Edu
Journal of Fluency Disorders
|June 19, 2013
Summary
Behavioral inhibition (BI) in preschool children who stutter (CWS) was studied. More CWS exhibited higher BI and stuttered more than less inhibited CWS, suggesting temperament links to stuttering.
Area of Science:
- Child development
- Speech-language pathology
- Temperament research
Background:
- Childhood stuttering is a complex disorder with multifactorial etiology.
- Temperament, particularly behavioral inhibition (BI), is increasingly recognized as a potential contributing factor.
- Understanding the interplay between temperament and stuttering is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between behavioral inhibition and stuttering in preschool children.
- To compare behavioral inhibition levels in children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS).
- To examine how behavioral inhibition influences the frequency of stuttering behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Preschool-aged children (36-68 months) were recruited, including 26 CWS and 28 CWNS.
- Behavioral inhibition was measured using latency to the sixth spontaneous comment in a conversational task.
- Stuttered/non-stuttered disfluencies and mean length of utterance were also assessed.
Main Results:
- No significant group difference in overall behavioral inhibition between CWS and CWNS.
- A subgroup analysis revealed more CWS with high BI and fewer with low BI compared to CWNS.
- Among CWS, higher behavioral inhibition was associated with increased stuttering frequency.
Conclusions:
- Behavioral inhibition, a facet of temperament, is present in some preschool CWS.
- Higher behavioral inhibition in CWS correlates with more frequent stuttering.
- Further research into temperamental characteristics and their association with childhood stuttering is warranted.
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