Identity Development in Adolescents Who Stutter: Three Stories

There is limited research on how stuttering identity develops. It is known that developing a positive stuttering identity is impacted by having a lack of role models who stutter, negative emotions related to stuttering, and negative social interactions. This study investigates how adolescents who stutter identify with stuttering and what factors contribute to developing a positive or negative regard for stuttering.

Three adolescent participants who stutter between the ages of 13 and 17 years were recruited for this study. Demographic surveys and qualitative semistructured interviews were utilized for data collection. Data were analyzed using guidelines of interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Responses were organized into three themes and subthemes: (1) stuttering changes from a behavior to an identity that is influenced by the subthemes of ridicule/bullying and accommodations; (2) growing awareness of stuttering identity influenced by positive and negative consequences; and (3) stuttering identity is incomplete, ambiguous, and uncertain during this time, which is influenced by domination of negative experiences over positive ones and lingering suspicion that stuttering is important.

The results from this study support the notion that stuttering identity begins developing during the period of adolescence and that it is primarily influenced by negative experiences. However, all participants also had positive experiences associated with their stuttering, including authenticity and connection with others. They felt stuttering was an important part of who they are. It is clinically important to help this age group find meaningful experiences with stuttering to facilitate development of a more positive stuttering identity.