Assessing Communication Attitudes Among Stutterers

Abstract

The responses given to each of 466 Communication Inventory items by a group of 100 nonstutterers were contrasted with those given by a criterion group of 50 stutterers. A scale of communication attitudes (S-scale) was empirically derived on the basis of item responses that differentiated stutterers from nonstutterers. This scale was further refined by eliminating items that, in two additional groups of subjects, failed to demonstrate significant correlation with the dichotomy of stutterer versus nonstutterer. Observed relationships between S-scale scores and (1) self- and clinician-ratings of stuttering severity, (2) self-ratings of improvement since beginning therapy, and (3) self-ratings and self-descriptions of reactions to social conversation suggest that the S-scale does provide information about attitudes of stutterers toward interpersonal communication. The scores obtained on this scale are related to other criterion measures of interest to the speech pathologist, and the method by which the scale was derived appears to be a useful one.