Changing Polish university students' attitudes toward cluttering

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Pathology
• Psychology of Communication

Background:

• Cluttering is a fluency disorder that affects speech production.
• Public attitudes toward fluency disorders, including cluttering, can impact individuals' quality of life.
• Educational interventions may be effective in modifying these attitudes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of an educational intervention on university students' attitudes toward cluttering.
• To determine if specific activities can improve recognition of problems associated with fluency disorders.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design with 78 university students, divided into Experimental and Control groups.
• Administration of the Polish version of the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Cluttering (POSHA-Cl) pre- and post-intervention.
• The Experimental group participated in educational videos, workshops, and documentaries about cluttering and fluency disorders.

Main Results:

• The Experimental group showed significant positive changes in 53% of cluttering attitude ratings.
• The Control group exhibited no significant changes in attitudes.
• Pre-intervention differences between groups were noted in 13% of attitude ratings.

Conclusions:

• Educational interventions can positively modify university students' attitudes toward cluttering.
• The findings have implications for designing effective interventions for fluency disorders.
• Experiential components and content are crucial for improving public attitudes.