Anxiety levels in adolescents who stutter.
High levels of anxiety can negatively affect the lives of children and adolescents. Thirty-six adolescents who stutter and 36 adolescents who do not stutter were administered standardized scales for anxiety and self-esteem. Significant differences were found for the total T-scores for Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale for the two groups, although both groups mean T-scores were within normal range. Eighty-three percent of adolescents who stutter and 95% of adolescents who do not stutter earned scores in the normal range. No significant differences were found on the self-esteem scale, with 86% of adolescents who stutter and 97% of adolescents who do not stutter earning scores in the normal/positive range. Adolescents who stutter with co-occurring disorders displayed significantly higher levels of anxiety than adolescents who stutter with no co-occurring disorders. No significant differences were found between groups on ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender and anxiety levels. A positive, significant correlation between anxiety scores and self-esteem scores was found for both groups.


OBJECTIVE
Readers will learn about and understand (a) the role of anxiety and self-esteem in stuttering; (b) the methods used to evaluate anxiety and self-esteem in adolescents; and (c) the similarities between adolescents who stutter and adolescents who do not stutter on anxiety and self-esteem scales.
Blood
Gordon W
GW
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. f2x@psu.edu
Blood
Ingrid M
IM
Maloney
Kristy
K
Meyer
Crystal
C
Qualls
Constance Dean
CD
D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008347:Manifest Anxiety Scale; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013342:Stuttering / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*