Attitudes of elementary school teachers toward stuttering in Zahedan, Iran: A cross-sectional study

Stuttering is a complex communication difference with significant psychological and social consequences. Negative attitudes toward people who stutter (PWS) often stem from misconceptions and limited awareness. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of elementary school teachers toward stuttering and examine demographic factors associated with these attitudes using the Persian version of the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S) in elementary school teachers in Zahedan, Iran.

This cross-sectional study included 150 randomly selected teachers who completed the POSHA-S. Their Overall Stuttering Score (OSS), Beliefs, and Self-Reactions subscores were compared with the international POSHA-S database using percentile benchmarking. Associations between subscores and demographic variables (age, gender, education level, marital status, and parental status) were analyzed using General Linear Modeling.

The mean OSS was 14 (24th percentile) compared with 17 in the international POSHA-S database, indicating less favorable overall attitudes among teachers. Beliefs about PWS were less positive, particularly regarding etiology and personality, whereas Self-Reactions were moderately above average (58th percentile). In an exploratory analysis, a Gender × Marital Status interaction was significant predictor of Beliefs and OSS (p < .05), but not of Self-Reactions; no demographic predictors reached significance for this subscore.

These findings reveal a discrepancy between teachers' relatively positive Self-Reactions and their less favorable Beliefs about PWS. The exploratory Gender × Marital Status interaction observed for both Beliefs and OSS should be interpreted cautiously and warrants replication in larger, more balanced samples. Culturally tailored teacher education programs may help address misconceptions about stuttering and promote more informed attitudes toward students who stutter in similar educational contexts.