Electrodermal Activity of Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter During a Child-Friendly Stroop Paradigm

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess whether emotional reactivity, indexed by a distinct physiological measure of sympathetic activation, differs between preschool-age children who stutter (CWS) and preschool-age children who do not stutter (CWNS) during a child-friendly Stroop task (i.e., day–night task). Additionally, researchers aimed to assess whether the Stroop task, compared to a control task, was a significant physiological stressor. Method: Fifteen preschool-age CWS and 22 preschool-age CWNS were asked to perform a day–night Stroop task in order to elicit psychophysiological reactivity, indexed by electrodermal response (EDR) occurrence frequency and EDR amplitude. Physiological measurements were recorded during pretask baselines, performance of the day–night Stroop task, and performance of a speech-language control task. Results: Findings based on EDR measures did not support the hypothesis that the child-friendly day–night Stroop task is an effective stressor as compared to a control task based on measures of physiological arousal in preschool-age children. The CWS and CWNS did not significantly differ in their EDR measures relative to the control task or Stroop task ( p > .05). However, CWS, compared to CWNS, exhibited significantly greater EDR amplitudes during the control task baseline ( p < .05) and the Stroop task baseline ( p < .05). Conclusion: Overall, these findings may suggest that a predisposition to heightened levels of sympathetic activity prior to tasks in preschool-age CWS is important to consider with regard to the nature of developmental stuttering.