Temperament Profiles and Their Association With Stuttering-Related Outcomes in a Clinical Cohort

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Previous research on temperament in developmental stuttering has treated emotional reactivity and self-regulation separately.
• Understanding their interaction is crucial for a comprehensive view of stuttering-related outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interplay between emotional reactivity and self-regulation in children who stutter.
• To examine how this interplay influences stuttering severity, speech attitude, anxiety, depression, and stuttering impact.

Main Methods:

• 322 younger (3-8 years) and 468 older children (9-15 years) who stutter were categorized into four temperament profiles based on parental reports of emotional reactivity and self-regulation.
• Profiles were created by dichotomizing scores at the midpoint or U.K. population mean.
• Differences in stuttering severity, impact, speech attitude, and anxiety/depression levels were analyzed between groups.

Main Results:

• In younger children, only lower positive reactivity with lower self-regulation was linked to greater perceived stuttering impact (using U.K. mean dichotomization).
• Older children with higher positive reactivity and self-regulation experienced less impact, anxiety, and depression.
• Higher negative reactivity combined with lower self-regulation was associated with greater stuttering impact in older children.

Conclusions:

• The interaction of emotional reactivity and self-regulation affects stuttering outcomes in late childhood and adolescence, but not early childhood.
• Higher positive reactivity and self-regulation act as protective factors for older children experiencing stuttering.
• Self-regulation appears to play a protective role, particularly when negative reactivity is high, mitigating stuttering impact.