Date of Award
1-1-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Department
Communication Sciences and Disorders
First Advisor
Gregory Snyder
Second Advisor
Myriam Kornisch
Third Advisor
Ying Hao
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Research indicates that people who stutter are frequently attributed with negative stereotypes by listeners as a result of their speech. Previous research has examined the use of self-disclosure in offering the stuttering community a means of acknowledging and sharing the presence of their stuttering with a conversation partner. Subsequently, stuttering self-disclosure has been shown to reduce negative listener perceptions. Select advocate disclosures have also been found to yield beneficial results for a male child who stutters, but the effects of advocate disclosure on perceptions of a female who stutters has remained unexplored. This study expands upon previous research and examines the effects of a father disclosure, mother disclosure, brother disclosure, sister disclosure, female teacher disclosure, and no disclosure on perceptions of 12-year-old female child who stutters (CWS). All participants viewed a brief video of a 12-year old female CWS stuttering while reciting a short passage about American history. Participants in the experimental groups viewed one of five disclosure statements immediately prior to the core stuttering video. All participants then completed a brief survey to quantify their perceptions of the female CWS in regard to her speech skills and personality characteristics on a Likert-type scale. Results from this study supported previous research findings indicating success in reducing negative listener perceptions following select advocate disclosure. Specifically, the greatest opportunities for reducing negative listener perceptions were found following a mother disclosure, brother disclosure, and sister disclosure. Additionally, father disclosure was found to elicit more negative perceptions that the control condition in regard to the friendly/unfriendly personality characteristic continuum. These results, in conjunction with results of previous research examining the effects of stuttering advocate disclosure in regard to males who stutter, could be indicative of a gender matching effect, where parental advocates as the same gender of their child who stutters provide the greatest opportunity for improved listener perceptions. Additionally, the existence of sibling relationships among participants may have led to more favorable perceptions of sibling advocacy for a female CWS.
Recommended Citation
McKnight, Peyton, "The Effects of Advocate Disclosure on Perceptions of a Female Child Who Stutters" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2254.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2254