Social-Emotional Development of Young Children Who Stutter: An Overview of Empirical Studies

Developmental stuttering typically emerges between 2.5 and 6 years, the period during which emotion processes, peer competence, and self-system processes also become more consolidated. This scoping review synthesized evidence on how social-emotional development (SED) intersects with stuttering in early childhood and how the literature conceptualizes their associations.

Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews, PubMed, APA PsycInfo, Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar were searched for peer-reviewed studies published in English (2000-June 2025) that included majority of children ≈2-6 years of age who stutter and measured at least one SED domain. Thirty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. Data were charted and narratively synthesized across three domains: emotion processes, social competence, and self-system processes.

In general, the review of empirical studies indicated that preschool-age children who stutter showed greater emotional reactivity and weaker regulation across neurophysiological, behavioral, and caregiver reports. Early childhood stuttering was also associated with risks of social withdrawal, victimization, and school adjustment challenges, despite often-intact prosocial skills. Likewise, the review indicated that preschoolers also demonstrated earlier, more negative communication attitudes, although overall self-concept is typically comparable to that of peers who do not stutter. Reviewed evidence appeared to support bidirectional associations. That is, arousal and social stress may exacerbate disfluency, and stuttering experiences may intensify negative affect and reticence.

Assessments should consider pairing stuttering behavior metrics with brief, developmentally appropriate SED measures when there are concerns about a child's social-emotional functioning. Any subsequent intervention, therefore, should target both stuttering behaviors and SED difficulties.