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The Satisfaction with Communication in Everyday Speaking Situations (SCESS) scale: An overarching outcome measure of
Hamid Karimi1, Mark Onslow1, Mark Jones2
1The University of Sydney, Faculty of Health Science, Australian Stuttering Research Centre, PO Box 170, Lidcombe, Sydney, NSW, 1825, Australia.
Purpose:
The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement strongly suggests one primary outcome for clinical trials, yet the outcomes of stuttering treatments span numerous behavioral and psychosocial domains. That presents a roadblock to eventual meta-analysis of clinical trials for adults who stutter.
Method:
We propose a simple and convenient outcome measure for clinical trials of stuttering treatment for adults that spans whatever behavioral and psychosocial factors might impel clients to seek treatment: a nine-point scale of Satisfaction with Communication in Everyday Speaking Situations (SCESS). The scale consists of one question which is simple, brief, easy to administer, cost-free, and translatable into many languages. The present report develops the SCESS scale by determining its reliability, content validity, and construct validity.
Results:
Reliability, content validity, and construct validity of the SCESS were confirmed with statistically significant and substantive correlations with speech-related and anxiety-related measures. However, the SCESS did not correlate well with percentage syllables stuttered. Three behavioral and psychosocial measures had the highest correlation with the SCESS: total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering, self-reported stuttering severity, and Unhelpful Thoughts and Beliefs about Stuttering.
Conclusion:
The SCESS measure has potential to be applied as an overarching clinical trial outcome measure of stuttering treatment effect. This study provides some preliminary evidence for including it as a primary or secondary outcome in clinical trials of adult stuttering treatments. However, further studies are needed to establish the SCESS responsiveness to different stuttering treatments.
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