Public attitudes toward stuttering in Malaysia

Chu SY 1 , Unicomb R 2 , Lee J 3 , Cho KS 4 , St Louis KO 5 , Harrison E 6 Show all authors , McConnell G 7

Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness (H-CARE), Speech Sciences Programme, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia. Electronic address: chushinying@ukm.edu.my
  • 2 School of Health Science, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia. Electronic address: Rachael.Unicomb@newcastle.edu.au
  • 3 Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Counseling, Texas Tech University, PO Box 41071, Lubbock, TX 79409-1071, USA. Electronic address: jaehoon.lee@ttu.edu
  • 4 Speech Therapy Services, UKM Specialist Children Hospital, Jalan Yaakob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia. Electronic address: ks.cho@ukm.edu.my
  • 5 Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, West Virginia University, PO Box 4382, Morgantown, WV 26504, USA. Electronic address: ken.stlouis@mail.wvu.edu
  • 6 Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia. Electronic address: elisabeth.harrison@mq.edu.au
  • 7 Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health and Human Services, Rockhurst University, 1100 Rockhurst Road, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA. Electronic address: graceroyce@gmail.com
J Fluency Disord, 2022 Dec;74:105942.
PMID: 36395547 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2022.105942

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study aims to: (a) measure public attitudes toward stuttering in Malaysia using the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attitudes-Stuttering [POSHA-S], (b) determine how reported attitudes and knowledge related to stuttering compare to existing data, and (c) determine whether there are differences between groups for identified variables.

METHOD: A total of 250 adults (mean age = 29 years; range = 19-60 years) completed the POSHA-S in English. We compared this sample's attitudes toward stuttering to POSHA-S data from other global samples. General linear modeling examined differences in overall stuttering score, beliefs, and self reaction subscores for demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, parenting, education, employment status, prior exposure to a person who stutters, multilingual, race, and religion.

RESULTS: The Malaysian participants' overall stuttering score and the beliefs and self reactions subscores were all considerably lower (i.e., less positive) than the other samples around the world from the POSHA-S database median values. Being male, receiving a higher education, and knowing someone who stutters were linked to having more positive self reactions, but none of those factors was linked to positive or negative beliefs. Those who had previously been exposed to stuttering scored significantly higher than those who had not.

CONCLUSION: Malaysians may have less positive attitudes toward stuttering than Westerners. More needs to be done to make society more accepting of people who stutter. Future research should aim to find ways to educate and to raise public awareness about stuttering.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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