title: Communicative and psychological dimensions of the KiddyCAT.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to investigate the underlying constructs of the Communication Attitude Test for Preschool and Kindergarten Children Who Stutter (KiddyCAT; Vanryckeghem & Brutten, 2007), especially those related to awareness of stuttering and negative speech-associated attitudes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 114 preschool-age children who stutter (CWS; n=52; 15 females) and children who do not stutter (CWNS; n=62; 31 females). Their scores on the KiddyCAT were assessed to determine whether they differed with respect to talker group (CWS vs. CWNS), chronological age, younger versus older age groups, and gender. A categorical data principal components factor analysis (CATPCA) assessed the quantity and quality of the KiddyCAT dimensions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings indicated that preschool-age CWS scored significantly higher than CWNS on the KiddyCAT, regardless of age or gender. Additionally, the extraction of a single factor from the CATPCA indicated that one dimension-speech difficulty-appears to underlie the KiddyCAT items.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As reported by its test developers, the KiddyCAT differentiates between CWS and CWNS. Furthermore, one factor, which appears related to participants' attitudes towards speech difficulty, underlies the questionnaire. Findings were taken to suggest that children's responses to the KiddyCAT are related to their perception that speech is difficult, which, for CWS, may be associated with relatively frequent experiences with their speaking difficulties (i.e., stuttering).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  After reading this article, the reader will be able to: (1) Better understand the concepts of attitude and awareness; (2) compare historical views with more recent empirical findings regarding preschool-age CWS' attitudes/awareness towards their stuttering; (3) describe the underlying dimension of the KiddyCAT questionnaire; (4) interpret KiddyCAT results and describe implications of those results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232-8242, United States. chagit.edery.clark@Vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Chagit E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Edward G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Conture
authors.forename: Carl B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Frankel
authors.forename: Tedra A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Walden
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013060:Speech; D013342:Stuttering / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires