Behavior Assessment Battery: Normative and Psychometric Investigation Among Polish Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to establish normative data for Polish persons who stutter (PWS) and persons who do not stutter (PWNS) with the adapted version of the Behavior Assessment Battery (BAB; Vanryckeghem & Brutten, 2018) for adults and to investigate whether or not gender and age influenced the results. In addition, the BAB subtests' reliability and validity were examined. Method A Polish version of the BAB test procedures, including the Speech Situation Checklist–Emotional Reaction, Speech Situation Checklist–Speech Disruption, Behavior Checklist, and Communication Attitude Test for Adults Who Stutter (Vanryckeghem & Brutten, 2018), were individually administered to 123 adults who stutter and 151 adults who do not stutter between the ages of 17 and 70. Results PWS scored statistically significantly higher on all BAB subtests compared to PWNS. No significant between-groups gender or age difference was detected. The test data indicate high internal validity. The test items correlate well with the total score and significantly differentiate the two groups. The test battery validly differentiates PWS from PWNS with high accuracy. Conclusions The Polish version of the BAB for adults confirms data collected in previous cross-cultural investigations. The results once again differentiate PWS from PWNS in a powerful way. Compared to PWNS, PWS report significantly more anxiety and speech breakdown when speaking in particular speech situations. They also report their attitude toward speech to be significantly more negative compared to the typical speaker and indicate using a significant number of coping behaviors to avoid or escape difficult speaking conditions. The BAB test battery, in its totality, assists in multidimensional assessment, pre- and posttreatment comparison, and identification of treatment targets based on the answers of PWS to each test item.