Developmental Features of the Self-Esteem of Children Who Stutter : Competence in School and Discussions of Stuttering With Their Family

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to explore factors related to the self-esteem of children who stutter, specifically academic competence, athletic competence, peer relations, and discussing their stuttering with their parents. All 124 third- through sixth-grade children participating in the study stuttered and were enrolled in special speech classes in public elementary schools. The children completed a self-esteem scale consisting of the following 4 factors: confidence, motivation, self-acceptance, and acceptance by their family. Their parents completed a questionnaire that asked whether they talked about stuttering with their children; the children's teachers in the special speech classes were asked about the children's academic competence, athletic competence and peer relations. Interviews were also conducted with 8 parents who had talked with their children about their stuttering. The main findings were as follows: (1) The children who were rated as higher or highest in academic competence or at the highest level of athletic competence had more confidence in themselves than did the children who had the lowest academic or athletic competence. (2) Among the children who had talked about their stuttering with their parents, those in the fifth and sixth grade accepted themselves as well as those in the third and fourth grade. But among the children who did not talk about their stuttering with their parents, those in the fifth and sixth grade accepted themselves less well than did the third- and fourth-grade children. (3) The parents who talked about their children's stuttering with them did not report a negative perception of stuttering. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)