Attitudes of communication sciences and disorders students at Jordan university of science and technology toward stuttering and people who stutter

Abstract

Objectives: The current study explored the attitudes of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) toward stuttering and people who stutter (PWS). Methods: All students in the CSD program from each year level at JUST were invited to participate in the current study. A translated Arabic version of the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S), a standard instrument, was used to compare stuttering attitudes from the four classes and also to compare them to attitudes of similar students and the general population from different countries on the POSHA-S database. Results: Data collected from the CSD students at JUST did not reflect any significant change in students' overall attitudes toward stuttering as they progressed from the 1st through the 4th year. However, they exhibited more positive attitudes than the public in Jordan. Compared to the POSHA-S database, Jordanian attitudes were somewhat less positive than most SLP students sampled in other regions. Conclusion: The current study revealed that students of CSD in Jordan hold less positive attitudes toward stuttering and PWS compared to people from other countries in the same region. Findings are discussed relevant to the literature on attitudes toward stuttering and PWS.